Shloka 24
Vyaktāvyakta-Viveka and Nivṛtti as Paramā Gati
Manifest–Unmanifest Discrimination and the Supreme Path of Withdrawal
नारायणादृषिगणास्तथा मुख्या: सुरासुरा: । राजर्षय: पुराणाश्न परमं दुःखभेषजम्,नारायणसे ही ऋषियों, मुख्य-मुख्य देवताओं, असुरों तथा प्राचीन राजर्षियोंने उस ब्रह्मको जाना है; वह ब्रह्म-ज्ञान ही समस्त दुःखोंका परम औषध है
nārāyaṇād ṛṣigaṇās tathā mukhyāḥ surāsurāḥ | rājarṣayaḥ purāṇāś ca paramaṃ duḥkhabheṣajam ||
Bhīṣma said: From Nārāyaṇa, the hosts of seers—as well as the foremost among gods and asuras, and the ancient royal sages—have come to know that supreme remedy for sorrow. That highest knowledge (of Brahman) is taught as the final medicine that cures all suffering.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents Brahman-knowledge (the highest spiritual realization) as the supreme medicine for duḥkha (suffering), and grounds its authority by stating that sages, gods, asuras, and ancient royal sages have known it through Nārāyaṇa.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira by elevating Nārāyaṇa as the ultimate source and by emphasizing that the highest knowledge is universally acknowledged—even by diverse cosmic beings—as the cure for sorrow.