Text 35]
Bhīṣma's Passing Away
487
sapadi sakhi-vaco niśamya madhye nija-parayor balayo rathaṁ niveśya sthitavati para-sainikāyur akṣṇā hṛtavati pārtha-sakhe ratir mamāstu
sapadi —on the battlefield;  sakhi-vacaḥ —command of the friend;  niśamya —after hearing;  madhye —in the midst of;  nija —own;  parayoḥ —the opposite party;  balayoḥ —strength;  ratham —chariot;  niveśya —having entered;  sthitavati —while staying there;  para-sainika —soldiers on the opposite side;  āyuḥ —duration of life;  akṣṇā —by looking over;  hṛtavati —act of diminishing;  pārtha —Arjuna, son of Pṛthā (Kuntī);  sakhe —unto the friend of;  ratiḥ —intimate relation;  mama —my;  astu —let there be.
TRANSLATION
In obedience to the command of His friend, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa entered the arena of the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra between the soldiers of Arjuna and Duryodhana, and while there, He shortened the life spans of the opposite party by His merciful glance. This was done simply by His looking at the enemy. Let my mind be fixed upon that Kṛṣṇa.
PURPORT
In the  Bhagavad-gītā  (Bg. 1.21-25) Arjuna ordered the infallible Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa to place his chariot between the phalanxes of the soldiers. He asked Him to stay there until he had finished observing the enemies he had to face in the battle. When the Lord was so asked, He at once did so just like an order carrier. And the Lord pointed out all the important men on the opposite side, saying, “Here is Bhīṣma, here is Droṇa,” and so on. The Lord, being the supreme living being, is never the order supplier or order carrier of anyone, whoever may he be. But out of His causeless mercy and affection for His pure devotees, sometimes He carries out the order of the devotee like an awaiting servant. By executing the order of a devotee, the Lord becomes pleased, as a father is pleased to carry out the order of his small child. This is possible only out of pure transcendental love between the Lord and His devotees, and Bhīṣmadeva is quite aware of this fact. He, therefore, addressed the Lord as the friend of Arjuna.
The Lord diminished the duration of life of the opposite party by His merciful glance. It is said that all fighters who assembled on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra attained salvation by personally seeing the Lord at the time