Shloka 17
अव्यक्त–व्यक्त–कारणकार्यविवेकः
Avyakta–Vyakta and Causality: Discrimination of Field and Knower
बुद्धि: कर्मगुणैहीना यदा मनसि वर्तते । तदा सम्पद्यते ब्रह्म तत्रैव प्रलयं गतम्,जिस समय बुद्धि कर्मजनित गुणोंसे छूटकर हृदयमें स्थित हो जाती है, उस समय जीवात्मा ब्रह्ममें लीन होकर ब्रह्मको प्राप्त हो जाता है
buddhiḥ karmaguṇair hīnā yadā manasi vartate | tadā sampadyate brahma tatraiva pralayaṃ gatam ||
Bhīṣma said: When the intellect becomes free from the qualities produced by action and abides steadily in the mind’s inner seat, then the individual self attains Brahman—dissolving right there into that supreme reality. The ethical thrust is that liberation is not achieved by outward performance alone, but by inner detachment from action-born tendencies and a settled, purified awareness.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation occurs when buddhi (discriminative intellect) is freed from karma-born guṇas—habitual tendencies generated by action and attachment—and becomes inwardly steady; then the self is absorbed into Brahman.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira a contemplative doctrine: the culmination of spiritual practice is the mind’s inward stabilization and the dissolution of individuality into Brahman.