Shloka 47
Śrī–Indra–Bali Saṃvāda: The Departure and Fourfold Placement of Lakṣmī
विनाशिनो हाध्रुवजीवितस्य कि बन्धुभिभभिन्नपरिग्रहै श्व । विहाय यो गच्छति सर्वमेव क्षणेन गत्वा न निवर्तते च,जो एक दिन नष्ट होनेवाला है, जिसके जीवनका कुछ ठिकाना नहीं, ऐसे अनित्य शरीरको पाकर इन बन्धु-बान्धवों तथा स्त्री-पुत्र आदिसे क्या लाभ है? यह सोचकर जो मनुष्य इन सबको क्षणभरमें वैराग्यपूर्वक त्यागकर चल देता है, उसे मृत्युके पश्चात् फिर इस संसारमें जन्म नहीं लेना पड़ता
vināśino hādhruva-jīvitasya kiṁ bandhubhir bhinna-parigrahaiḥ śvaḥ | vihāya yo gacchati sarvam eva kṣaṇena gatvā na nivartate ca ||
Bhishma said: “Alas, for one whose life is perishable and whose span is uncertain, what real gain is there in relatives and in possessions that are scattered and unstable? Reflecting thus, the person who, in a moment, renounces all with dispassion and departs—having gone on—does not return again (to worldly birth).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Because life and the body are perishable and uncertain, clinging to relatives and possessions is ultimately unreliable; swift, dispassionate renunciation leads to non-return—freedom from rebirth.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhishma teaches Yudhishthira by emphasizing the fragility of life and urging detachment as the path toward moksha.