Shloka 19
मोक्षधर्मः — स्नेहपाशच्छेदः
Mokṣa-dharma: Cutting the Bonds of Attachment
महात्मा सर्वतो दान्त: सर्वत्रवानपाश्रित: । अपूर्वचारक: सौम्यो अनिकेत: समाहित:
mahātmā sarvato dāntaḥ sarvatravān apāśritaḥ | apūrvacārakaḥ saumyo aniketaḥ samāhitaḥ ||
Bhishma said: “A true great-souled renunciant should be self-restrained in every way, unattached everywhere and dependent on none. Gentle in conduct, without a fixed dwelling, and steady in concentration, he should not wander in places familiar from his former stage of life, but live free from old associations and distractions.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse outlines the ethical discipline of a renunciant: complete self-restraint, non-dependence, gentleness, homelessness (no fixed base), and steady concentration—along with the practical rule of avoiding former familiar places that can revive attachments and distract the mind.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma after the war, Bhishma continues advising on the path of renunciation, describing the inner and outer marks of a true saṃnyāsī and how such a person should live to protect detachment and mental steadiness.