Shloka 28
बलीन्द्रसंवादः — Kāla, Anityatā, and the Limits of Agency
Mahābhārata 12.217
सूक्ष्मं विशेषणं तेषामवेक्षेच्छास्त्रचक्षुषा । देहान्तं परमं विद्याद् विमुक्तमपरिग्रहम् । अन्तरिक्षादन्यतरं धारणासक्तमानसम्,शास्त्रीय दृष्टिसे उन महात्माओंकी सूक्ष्म विशेषताको देखे। देहत्यागपर्यन्त नित्यमुक्त, अपरिग्रह, आकाशसे भी विलक्षण उस परब्रह्मका ज्ञान प्राप्त करे, जिसमें योगधारणाद्वारा मनको स्थापित किया जाता है
bhīṣma uvāca | sūkṣmaṃ viśeṣaṇaṃ teṣām avekṣec chāstra-cakṣuṣā | dehāntaṃ paramaṃ vidyād vimuktam aparigraham | antarīkṣād anyataraṃ dhāraṇāsakta-mānasam ||
Bhishma said: With the eye of scripture one should discern the subtle distinguishing mark of those great souls. One should know the Supreme as that which is realized up to the very end of the body (until the final casting off), ever free, without possessions or grasping, and more subtle than even space—That in which the mind is steadily placed through yogic concentration (dhāraṇā).
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Discern, through scriptural insight, the subtle hallmark of true spiritual attainment: knowledge of the Supreme that is ever-free and non-possessive, realized through steady yogic concentration (dhāraṇā) and maintained until the end of embodied life.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhishma continues advising the listener to evaluate saints/realized persons by a subtle criterion—scripturally grounded insight into the Supreme—and to pursue that same realization through disciplined concentration and renunciation.