Canto 1: Creation, Chapter 9: The Passing Away of Bhīṣmadeva in the Presence of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.9.1

sūta uvāca

iti bhītaḥ prajā-drohāt

sarva-dharma-vivitsayā

tato vinaśanaḿ prāgād

yatra deva-vrato 'patat

SYNONYMS

sūtaḥ uvāca — Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī said; iti — thus; bhītaḥ — being afraid of; prajā-drohāt — because of killing the subjects; sarva — all; dharma — acts of religion; vivitsayā — for understanding; tataḥ — thereafter; vinaśanam — the place where the fight was held; prāgāt — he went; yatra — where; deva-vrataḥ — Bhīṣmadeva; apatat — lay down for passing away.

TRANSLATION

Sūta Gosvāmī said: Being afraid for having killed so many subjects on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira went to the scene of the massacre. There, Bhīṣmadeva was lying on a bed of arrows, about to pass away.

PURPORT

In this Ninth Chapter, as it is willed by Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Bhīṣmadeva will impart instructions to King Yudhiṣṭhira on the subject of occupational duties. Bhīṣmadeva will also offer his last prayer to the Lord on the verge of passing away from this mortal world and thus become liberated from the bondage of further material engagements. Bhīṣmadeva was endowed with the power of leaving his material body at will, and his lying down on the bed of arrows was his own choice. This passing away of the great warrior attracted the attention of all the contemporary elites, and all of them assembled there to show their feelings of love, respect and affection for the great soul.