Shloka 2
Vyaktāvyakta-Viveka and Nivṛtti as Paramā Gati
Manifest–Unmanifest Discrimination and the Supreme Path of Withdrawal
भीष्म उवाच अत्राप्युदाहरन्तीममितिहासं पुरातनम् । संवादं मोक्षसंयुक्त शिष्यस्य गुरुणा सह,भीष्मजी बोले--राजन्! इस विषयमें एक शिष्यका गुरुके साथ जो मोक्षसम्बन्धी संवाद हुआ था, उसी प्राचीन इतिहासका उदाहरण दिया जाता है
bhīṣma uvāca | atrāpy udāharantīmam itihāsaṃ purātanam | saṃvādaṃ mokṣa-saṃyuktaṃ śiṣyasya guruṇā saha ||
Bhishma said: “O King, in this matter too an ancient precedent is cited: a venerable old account describing a dialogue on liberation that took place between a disciple and his teacher.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma frames his instruction by appealing to an authoritative precedent: an ancient guru–disciple dialogue specifically concerned with moksha (liberation). The verse emphasizes learning dharma and liberation through traditional exemplars and disciplined transmission of wisdom.
Bhishma signals a transition into an illustrative story. He tells the king that, to clarify the present topic, he will recount an old itihasa—an instructive account—centered on a conversation between a disciple and a teacher about liberation.