Shloka 8
अव्यक्त–व्यक्त–कारणकार्यविवेकः
Avyakta–Vyakta and Causality: Discrimination of Field and Knower
विषयोंके संसर्गसे, सदा उन्हींमें रचे-पचे रहनेसे तथा मनके द्वारा साधनके विपरीत भोगोंकी इच्छा रखनेसे पुरुषको परब्रह्म परमात्माकी प्राप्ति नहीं होती है ।। ज्ञानमुत्पद्यते पुंसां क्षयात् पापस्य कर्मण: । यथा<<दर्शतले प्रख्ये पश्यत्यात्मानमात्मनि,पाप-कर्मोंका क्षय होनेसे ही मनुष्योंके अन्तःकरणमें ज्ञानका उदय होता है। जैसे स्वच्छ दर्पणमें ही मानव अपने प्रतिबिम्बको अच्छी तरह देख पाता है
bhīṣma uvāca | viṣayāṇāṃ saṃsargāt sadā teṣv eva race-pace bhāvāt tathā manasā sādhanaviparītān bhogān icchato narasya parabrahma-paramātmaprāptir na bhavati || jñānam utpadyate puṃsāṃ kṣayāt pāpasya karmaṇaḥ | yathā darpaṇatale prakhye paśyaty ātmānam ātmani ||
Bhishma said: By associating with sense-objects, by remaining constantly absorbed in them, and by letting the mind crave enjoyments that run contrary to the true means of spiritual attainment, a person does not reach the Supreme Brahman, the Paramatman. Knowledge arises in human beings only when sinful action is exhausted and purified away; just as one can clearly see one’s reflection only in a clean, bright mirror, so the Self is discerned when the inner instrument is cleansed of wrongdoing.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Attachment to sense-objects and craving for pleasures that oppose spiritual discipline blocks realization of the Supreme; true knowledge dawns only when sinful karma is purified, making the mind like a clean mirror capable of reflecting the Self.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction section, Bhishma continues advising on liberation-oriented dharma: he contrasts sensory entanglement with inner purification, using the mirror metaphor to explain how moral cleansing enables self-knowledge.