Shloka 16
Jñāna-plava (The Raft of Knowledge): Svabhāva, Prajñā, and the Ascent to Ātmajñāna
विमुच्य हृदयग्रन्थिं चड़्क्रमन्ति यथासुखम् । न येषां बान्धवा: सन्ति ये चान्येषां न बान्धवा:
vimucya hṛdayagranthiṃ caḍkramanti yathāsukham | na yeṣāṃ bāndhavāḥ santi ye cānyeṣāṃ na bāndhavāḥ ||
Jaigiṣavya said: “Having loosened the knot of the heart, they move about freely and happily in every direction. They have no relatives of their own, nor do they stand as relatives to others.”
जैगीषव्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Freedom arises when the ‘knot of the heart’—ignorance-driven attachment and possessiveness—is cut. The liberated person no longer defines identity through ‘my people’ and ‘others’ and thus moves through the world without binding ties.
In a didactic passage of the Śānti Parva, Jaigiṣavya describes the conduct of those who have attained inner release: they wander at ease, unconfined by familial or social claims that ordinarily create obligation, partiality, and suffering.