Shloka 23
Adhyāya 159 — Dāna–Dakṣiṇā, Āpaddharma Measures, and Prāyaścitta Classifications
येष्वावृत्तिभयं नास्ति परलोकभयं न च | नामिषेषु प्रसंगो5स्ति न प्रियेष्वप्रियेषु च
yeṣv āvṛttibhayaṁ nāsti paralokabhayaṁ na ca | nāmiṣeṣu prasaṅgo 'sti na priyeṣv apriyeṣu ca ||
Bhīṣma said: Those in whom there is no fear of returning again to worldly rebirth, nor any fear regarding the next world; those who are not entangled in sense-pleasures; and those in whom attachment and aversion do not arise toward what is pleasant or unpleasant—such persons stand established in inner freedom and equanimity.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Freedom is marked by fearlessness about rebirth and the afterlife, non-attachment to sensual enjoyments, and even-mindedness toward the pleasant and the unpleasant—i.e., the cessation of rāga-dveṣa (attachment-aversion).
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the path to inner peace after the war; here he describes the qualities of a liberated or spiritually mature person who is no longer driven by fear, craving, or emotional partiality.