Shloka 53
Śukra’s Ultimatum and Devayānī’s Demand (शुक्र-प्रतिज्ञा तथा देवयानी-वर-याचना)
यदा चायं न बिभेति यदा चास्मान्न बिभ्यति | यदा नेच्छति न डेष्टि ब्रह्म सम्पद्यते तदा,“जब सर्वत्र ब्रह्मदृष्टि होनेके कारण यह पुरुष किसीसे नहीं डरता और जब उससे भी दूसरे प्राणी नहीं डरते तथा जब वह न तो किसीकी इच्छा करता है और न किसीसे द्वेष ही रखता है, उस समय वह ब्रह्मको प्राप्त हो जाता है”
yadā cāyaṃ na bibheti yadā cāsmān na bibhyati | yadā necchati na dveṣṭi brahma sampadyate tadā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: When a person, seeing Brahman everywhere, fears no one—and when other beings likewise do not fear him; when he neither craves anything nor bears hatred toward anyone—then he attains Brahman.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Attaining Brahman is linked to inner freedom and ethical purity: one becomes fearless, causes no fear to others, and is free from craving (icchā) and hatred (dveṣa). These qualities indicate a mind no longer driven by attachment and aversion.
Vaiśampāyana is delivering a doctrinal statement within the Adi Parva’s instructional material, describing the characteristics of a person who reaches the highest state (Brahman): mutual fearlessness with all beings and the cessation of desire and hostility.