Shloka 23
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
सक्तमात्मानमीशे च देवे नारायणो तथा । देवं मोक्षे च संसक्त मोक्ष सक्ते तु न क्वचित्
saktam ātmānam īśe ca deve nārāyaṇo tathā | devaṁ mokṣe ca saṁsaktaṁ mokṣa-sakte tu na kvacit ||
ভীষ্ম বললেন— আত্মা ঈশ্বরের উপর নির্ভরশীল; আর ঈশ্বর নারায়ণ-দেবের উপর। নারায়ণ-দেব মোক্ষের সঙ্গে সংযুক্ত বলে কথিত; কিন্তু মোক্ষ কারও উপর আশ্রিত নয়—সে নিজ স্বরূপেই প্রতিষ্ঠিত।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a chain of dependence: the individual self relies on the Lord; the Lord is identified with/grounded in Nārāyaṇa; Nārāyaṇa is connected with Mokṣa (the supreme release). Mokṣa alone is independent—self-established—indicating liberation as the ultimate, unconditioned reality.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the highest good. Here he shifts to a metaphysical explanation, describing how all conditioned beings and divine forms ultimately point toward Mokṣa as the final, self-sufficient principle.