Shloka 22

Devanagari script

आ देहादप्रमादाच्च देहान्ताद्‌ विप्रमुच्यते । हेतुयुक्त: सदा सर्गो भूतानां प्रलयस्तथा,देह-त्यागपर्यन्त प्रमाद न होनेपर योगी देहावसानके पश्चात्‌ मोक्ष प्राप्त कर लेता है और जो बन्धनके कारणभूत अज्ञानसे युक्त होते हैं, उन प्राणियोंके सदा जन्म और मरण होते रहते हैं

Transliteration

ā dehād apramādāc ca dehāntād vipramucyate | hetuyuktaḥ sadā sargo bhūtānāṁ pralayas tathā ||

Translation

Bhishma sprach: Von dem Augenblick an, da man einen Leib annimmt, wird der, der wachsam bleibt und nicht in Nachlässigkeit verfällt, am Ende des Leibes befreit. Doch für Wesen, die mit der Ursache (der Bindung) — der Unwissenheit — verbunden sind, gibt es fortwährendes Entstehen (Geburt) und ebenso fortwährendes Vergehen (Tod).

Word by Word

आup to, until

देहात्from the body

अप्रमादात्from (i.e., due to) non-negligence, vigilance

चand

देहान्तात्from the end of the body (i.e., after death)

विप्रमुच्यतेis completely released (is liberated)

हेतुयुक्तःendowed with a cause (i.e., having a cause/ground)

सदाalways

सर्गःcreation; birth; coming into being

भूतानाम्of beings

प्रलयःdissolution; destruction; death

तथाso; likewise; also

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Steady non-negligence (apramāda)—continuous mindful discipline throughout embodied life—leads to release at death; whereas ignorance as the root cause keeps beings revolving in repeated birth and death.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhishma continues advising Yudhishthira, contrasting the vigilant yogin who attains freedom at life’s end with ordinary beings bound to ignorance who undergo perpetual creation and dissolution.