Shloka 20
Śānti-parva 206: Guṇa-hetu Moha, Kāma-krodha Chain, Indriya-utpatti, and Nirodha
अदृष्टतो<नुपायाच्च प्रतिसंधेश्व॒ कर्मण: । न तेन मर्त्या: पश्यन्ति येन गच्छन्ति तत् पदम्,परंतु दुर्भाग्य, साधनहीनता और कर्मफलविषयक आसक्तिके कारण जिससे परमात्माकी प्राप्ति होती है, मनुष्य उस मार्गका दर्शन नहीं कर पाते हैं
adṛṣṭato'nupāyāc ca pratisaṃdheṣu karmaṇaḥ | na tena martyāḥ paśyanti yena gacchanti tat padam ||
Bhīṣma sprach: Weil er nicht unmittelbar sichtbar ist, weil die Mittel nicht verstanden werden und weil Handlungen in widerstreitende Erwägungen verstrickt sind, erkennen Sterbliche jenen Pfad nicht, durch den man den höchsten Zustand erreicht. Durch Unglück, Mangel an geistigen Ressourcen und Anhaftung an die Früchte des Handelns verfehlen die Menschen den Weg, der zum Höchsten führt.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The way to the highest goal (tat padam) is subtle and not grasped by ordinary perception; when people lack proper means (upāya) and remain caught in doubts and attachment to the fruits of karma, they fail to recognize the liberating path.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and liberation; here he explains why most humans do not discern the route to the supreme state—because it is not directly visible, the method is not understood, and karmic entanglements and fruit-attachment obscure insight.