Shloka 44
Vyaktāvyakta-Viveka and Nivṛtti as Paramā Gati
Manifest–Unmanifest Discrimination and the Supreme Path of Withdrawal
स्वप्नयोगे यथैवात्मा पज्चेन्द्रियसमायुत: । देहमुत्सज्य वै याति तथैवात्मोपलभ्यते
svapnayoge yathaivātmā pañcendriyasamāyutaḥ | deham utsṛjya vai yāti tathaivātmopalabhyate ||
Bhishma sprach: „Wie im Zustand des Traumes das Selbst—begleitet von den fünf Sinnen—scheinbar diesen Leib verlässt und anderswohin geht, so wird auch nach dem Tod verstanden, dass das Selbst diesen Leib verlässt und eine andere Verkörperung annimmt.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the dream-state as an analogy to explain transmigration: the self is not confined to one body, and after death it departs and takes another embodiment, much as it seems to ‘go elsewhere’ in dreams while still associated with sensory faculties.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction on peace and right understanding, Bhishma is teaching about the nature of the self and continuity beyond death, offering a philosophical explanation meant to reduce fear and support dharmic insight.