Shloka 21
मोक्षधर्मः — स्नेहपाशच्छेदः
Mokṣa-dharma: Cutting the Bonds of Attachment
विजानतां मोक्ष एष श्रम: स्यादविजानताम् । मोक्षयानमिदं कृत्स्नं विदुषां हारितो5ब्रवीत्
vijānātāṁ mokṣa eṣa śramaḥ syād avijānātām | mokṣayānam idaṁ kṛtsnaṁ viduṣāṁ hārito ’bravīt ||
Bhishma said: “For those who truly understand, this very discipline becomes liberation; for those who do not understand, it turns into mere toil. The sage Hārita has declared that, for the wise, this entire path of dharma is a ‘vehicle to moksha’—a conveyance that carries one to freedom.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The same religious discipline—especially renunciation grounded in insight—liberates the one who understands its purpose, but becomes mere exhausting ritual for one who lacks true knowledge. Wisdom transforms practice into moksha; ignorance reduces it to labor.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira and supports his point by citing the authority of the sage Hārita, who calls the complete dharmic path a ‘vehicle to moksha’ for the wise.