Shloka 5
यथा ह्ुपस्थितैश्वर्या: प्रजायन्ते न राजसा: । एवमेवात्मना5७त्मानं पूजयन्तीह धार्मिका:
yathā hy upasthitaiśvaryāḥ prajāyante na rājasāḥ | evam evātmanātmānaṃ pūjayantīha dhārmikāḥ ||
Bhishma said: “Just as those who already possess established sovereignty do not seek to be reborn through rajasic (passion-driven) striving, so too do the righteous here honor the Self by the Self. By disciplined practice of dharma, they elevate their own inner being and attain a higher state, careful not to fall again into the cycle of birth and death through the dominance of rajas.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Righteous people avoid rajasic, desire-driven action that binds one to rebirth; instead, through dharma and inner discipline they honor and uplift the Self by their own effort, aiming at a higher spiritual state.
Bhishma is instructing on dharma, contrasting passion-driven conduct (rajas) that leads to continued birth with the dharmic path of self-cultivation, where one’s own inner effort becomes the means of elevation.