Shloka 44

जनक–पराशर संवादः — वर्ण-गोत्र-धर्मविचारः

Janaka–Parāśara: Varṇa, Gotra, and Dharma Inquiry

Devanagari script

नैव ताम्यन्ति विद्वांस: प्लवन्त: पारमम्भस: । अध्यात्मविदुषो धीरा ज्ञानं तु परमं प्लव:,जो तैरनेकी कला जानते हैं, वे तैरकर अगाध जलसे पार हो जाते हैं। उन्हें कष्ट नहीं भोगना पड़ता। उसी प्रकार अध्यात्मतत्त्वके ज्ञाता धीर पुरुष अनायास संसार-सागरको पार कर जाते हैं। उनके लिये परम ज्ञान ही जहाज बन जाता है

Transliteration

naiva tāmyanti vidvāṁsaḥ plavantaḥ pāram ambhasaḥ | adhyātmaviduṣo dhīrā jñānaṁ tu paramaṁ plavaḥ ||

Translation

ভীষ্মে ক’লে: যিসকল জ্ঞানীয়ে সাঁতোৰ জানে, তেওঁলোকে গভীৰ পানী সাঁতুৰি পাৰ হৈ যায়; তেওঁলোক ক্লান্ত নহয়। তেনেকৈ আত্মতত্ত্ব-জ্ঞ ধীৰ পুৰুষে অনায়াসে সংসাৰ-সাগৰ পাৰ কৰে; তেওঁলোকৰ বাবে পৰম জ্ঞানেই নাও হয়।

Word by Word

• {'na eva': 'not at all', 'tāmyanti': 'become weary, faint, suffer exhaustion', 'vidvāṁsaḥ': 'the wise, the learned', 'plavantaḥ': 'swimming, floating

• crossing by swimming', 'pāram': 'the farther shore, the other side', 'ambhasaḥ': 'of water

• of the waters', 'adhyātma-viduṣaḥ': 'knowers of the inner Self/spiritual principle', 'dhīrāḥ': 'steadfast, composed, courageous in understanding', 'jñānam': 'knowledge (especially liberating knowledge)', 'tu': 'indeed, but (emphatic)', 'paramam': 'supreme, highest', 'plavaḥ': 'a boat, raft

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• waters (ambhas)
• far shore (pāra)
• supreme knowledge (parama-jñāna) as boat (plava)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Liberating self-knowledge functions like a boat: just as a skilled swimmer crosses deep water without exhaustion, a steadfast knower of the Self crosses the difficult ocean of saṁsāra with ease through supreme knowledge.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s instruction during the Shanti Parva, he uses a vivid analogy—crossing deep waters—to explain how spiritual insight and inner steadiness enable one to overcome worldly bondage and suffering.