Shloka 17
Śakra–Namuci-saṃvāda: Śoka-nivāraṇa and Daiva-vicāra
Indra and Namuci on grief, composure, and inevitability
त्याग एव हि सर्वेषां युक्तानामपि कर्मणाम् | नित्यं मिथ्याविनीतानां क्लेशो दुः:खवहो मतः,जो लोग मुक्तिके लिये प्रयत्नशील हों, उन सबको चाहिये कि सम्पूर्ण कर्मोमें अहंता, ममता, आसक्ति और कामनाका त्याग करे। जो इनका त्याग किये बिना ही विनीत (शाम, दम आदि साधनोंमें तत्पर) होनेका झूठा दावा करते हैं, उन्हें अविद्या आदि दुःखदायी क्लेश प्राप्त होते हैं
tyāga eva hi sarveṣāṁ yuktānām api karmaṇām | nityaṁ mithyā-vinītānāṁ kleśo duḥkhavaho mataḥ ||
Bhishma said: Renunciation alone is the true completion of all actions, even for those who are disciplined and engaged in proper practice. But for those who continually claim humility and self-control falsely—without giving up egoism, possessiveness, attachment, and desire—there arises affliction, which is held to be a bearer of suffering.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That genuine spiritual progress requires tyāga—giving up egoistic ownership, attachment, and desire within action; merely performing disciplines while retaining inner clinging is hypocrisy and results in kleśa (afflictions) that produce suffering.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction section, Bhishma is teaching Yudhishthira about dharma and liberation-oriented conduct, emphasizing inner renunciation as essential even when one continues to act.