Shloka 21

Devanagari script

रजोवर्ज्यो5प्ययं देही देहवाउछब्दवच्चरेत्‌ । कार्यरव्याहतमतिर्वैराग्यात्‌ प्रकृती स्थित:,योगपरायण योगीकी बुद्धि कार्योद्वारा व्याहत नहीं होती। वह वैराग्यवश अपने स्वभावमें स्थित रहता है, रजोगुणसे रहित होता है तथा देहथधारी होकर भी शब्दकी भाँति अबाध गतिसे सर्वत्र विचरण करता है

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | rajovarjyo ’py ayaṃ dehī dehavān śabdavac caret | kāryair avyāhatamatir vairāgyāt prakṛtau sthitaḥ | yogaparāyaṇo yogī ||

Translation

Bhishma said: Even while embodied, this yogin—wholly devoted to Yoga—is free from the agitation of rajas. Like sound, he moves unobstructed everywhere. His understanding is not struck down or disturbed by the demands of action; through dispassion he remains established in his own nature.

Word by Word

रजः-वर्ज्यःfree from rajas

अपिeven/also

अयम्this (one)

देहीembodied being

देह-वत्having a body

शब्द-वत्like sound

चरेत्should move/wander

कार्य-अव्याहत-मतिḥone whose mind is not obstructed in action

वैराग्यात्from/owing to dispassion

प्रकृतौin (his) nature

स्थितःstanding/abiding

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

yogī

rajas

śabda (sound)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A true yogin can live and act while embodied without being driven by rajas (restless passion). Through vairāgya (dispassion) he remains established in his own nature, and his intellect is not disturbed by the pressures of duties and tasks.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira about the marks of a realized yogin—describing inner steadiness, freedom from passion, and unobstructed movement through the world while remaining devoted to Yoga.