Shloka 2
दमप्रशंसा — Praise of Self-Restraint
Dama
परम परमात्मानं देवमक्षयमव्ययम् | विष्णुमव्यक्तसंस्थानं विदुस्तं देवसत्तमम्,ऐसे शुद्धात्मा पुरुष ही उस अक्षय, अविनाशी, परमदेव, अव्यक्तस्वरूप, देवप्रवर परमात्मा विष्णुका तत्त्व जान पाते हैं
parama paramātmānaṃ devam akṣayam avyayam | viṣṇum avyaktasaṃsthānaṃ vidus taṃ devasattamam ||
Bhīṣma said: Only those whose inner self is purified truly know Viṣṇu—the supreme Self, the highest Lord—imperishable and undecaying, whose mode of being is unmanifest, and who is the best among the gods.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True knowledge of the Supreme (Viṣṇu/Paramātman) arises in a purified person: inner purity and steadiness enable realization of the imperishable, unmanifest divine reality.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and higher spiritual truths; here he emphasizes that only the pure-minded can truly know the supreme Lord Viṣṇu, described as imperishable and unmanifest.