Shloka 2
भीष्म उवाच हन्त ते कथयिष्यामि यन्मां पृच्छसि भारत । रहस्यं यदृषीणां तु तच्छृणुष्व युधिष्ठिर । या गति: प्राप्यते येन प्रेत्यभावे चिरेप्सिता,भीष्मजीने कहा--भरतनन्दन युधिष्ठिर! तुम मुझसे जो कुछ पूछ रहे हो, यह ऋषियोंके लिये भी रहस्यका विषय है; किंतु मैं तुम्हें बतला रहा हूँ। सुनो, मरनेके बाद जिस मनुष्यको जैसी चिर अभिलषित गति मिलती है, उसका भी वर्णन करता हूँ
bhīṣma uvāca hanta te kathayiṣyāmi yan māṃ pṛcchasi bhārata | rahasyaṃ yad ṛṣīṇāṃ tu tac chṛṇuṣva yudhiṣṭhira | yā gatiḥ prāpyate yena pretyabhāve cirepsitā ||
قال بهيشما: «حسنًا يا بهاراتا، سأخبرك بما تسألني عنه. إن هذا لأمرٌ يُعدّ سرًّا حتى بين الرِّشيّين؛ ولكن اصغِ يا يودهيشثيرا. سأصف المصير الذي طالما تاق إليه الإنسان بعد الموت، والوسيلة التي يُنال بها».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma frames the forthcoming instruction as an esoteric doctrine: he will explain the means (yena) by which a person attains a long-cherished posthumous destiny (cirepsitā gatiḥ) after death (pretyabhāve). The verse emphasizes the seriousness and subtlety of the topic—dharma as it relates to ultimate ends.
In the Anushasana Parva dialogue, Yudhishthira questions Bhishma about profound matters of dharma. Here Bhishma begins his response, telling Yudhishthira to listen as he reveals a teaching considered secret even among sages, concerning the after-death destiny and how it is attained.