Shloka 6
पूर्व नित्यं सर्वगतं मनोहेतुमलक्षणम् । अज्ञानकर्म निर्दिषप्टमेतत् कारणलक्षणम्,आत्मा सबके पहले विद्यमान था। वह नित्य, सर्वगत, मनका भी हेतु और लक्षणरहित है। यह कारणस्वरूप समस्त जगत् अज्ञानका कार्य बताया गया है
pūrvaṁ nityaṁ sarvagataṁ manohetum alakṣaṇam | ajñānakarma nirdiṣṭam etat kāraṇalakṣaṇam ||
Bhishma said: The Self existed before all else—eternal, all-pervading, the very ground that gives rise to mind, and yet without any defining mark. This entire causal basis of the world is taught to be connected with ignorance and action (karma), as the characteristic condition from which manifest existence proceeds.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts the primacy of the Atman: it is beginningless, eternal, all-pervading, and not definable by ordinary attributes. The manifested causal order of the world is explained in relation to ignorance (ajñāna) and action (karma), implying that bondage and worldly causation persist where ignorance and karmic momentum operate, while the Self itself remains untouched.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, Bhishma continues his philosophical teaching to Yudhishthira, describing the nature of the Self and the causal basis of worldly experience, shifting the focus from external duties to inner knowledge that leads toward liberation.