Shloka 130
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
रिपौ मित्रेडथ मध्यस्थे विजये संधिविग्रहे । कृतवान् यो महीपाल: कि तस्मिन् मुक्तलक्षणम्,शत्रु-मित्र और मध्यस्थके विषयमें, विजय, संधि और विग्रहके अवसरोंपर जिस भूपालने यथोचित कार्य किये हैं, उसमें जीवन्मुक्तका क्या लक्षण है?
ripau mitre'tha madhyasthē vijayē sandhi-vigrahē | kṛtavān yo mahīpālaḥ ki tasmin mukta-lakṣaṇam ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Im Umgang mit Feind, Freund und dem Neutralen, und in Zeiten, die Sieg, Vertrag oder offene Feindschaft verlangen—wenn ein König in jedem Fall getan hat, was sich geziemt, worin besteht dann das Kennzeichen der Befreiung im Leben (jīvanmukti) bei einem solchen Menschen?“
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a key inquiry of Śānti Parva: even when a ruler performs correct political duties—discerning friend, enemy, and neutral, and choosing victory, treaty, or war appropriately—liberation is not merely external success. The question points toward inner marks of freedom: non-attachment, equanimity, and dharmic intention amid action.
Bhīṣma, instructing on rājadharma and higher aims, raises a reflective question: if a king has already acted properly in diplomacy and conflict, what additional sign distinguishes him as a liberated person? It sets up discussion on the inner spiritual state alongside outward governance.