Shloka 58
Saṃhāra-krama (The Sequence of Cosmic Dissolution) — Yājñavalkya’s Discourse
परं हि तद् ब्रह्म महन्महात्मन् ब्रह्माणमीशं वरदं च विष्णुम् भवं च धर्म च षडाननं च यद् ब्रह्मपुत्रांश्व महानुभावान्,महात्मन्! योगसिद्ध महात्मा पुरुष यदि चाहे तो तुरंत ही मुक्त होकर महान् परब्रह्मके स्वरूपको प्राप्त कर लेता है अथवा वह अपने योगबलसे भगवान् ब्रह्मा, वरदायक विष्णु, महादेवजी, धर्म, छः मुखोंवाले कार्त्तिकेय, ब्रह्माजीके महानुभाव पुत्र सनकादि, कष्ट-दायक तमोगुण, महान् रजोगुण, विशुद्ध सत्त्वगुण, मूल प्रकृति, वरुणपत्नी सिद्धिदेवी, सम्पूर्ण तेज, महान् धैर्य, ताराओंसहित आकाशमें प्रकाशित होनेवाले निर्मल तारापति चन्द्रमा, विश्वेदेव, नाग, पितर, सम्पूर्ण पर्वत, भयंकर समुद्र, सम्पूर्ण नदी-समुदाय, वन, मेघ, नाग, वृक्ष, यक्ष, दिशा, गन्धर्वगण, समस्त पुरुष और स्त्री--इनमेंसे प्रत्येकके पास पहुँचकर उसके भीतर प्रवेश कर सकता है
paraṁ hi tad brahma mahan-mahātman brahmāṇam īśaṁ varadaṁ ca viṣṇum bhavaṁ ca dharmaṁ ca ṣaḍānanaṁ ca yad brahma-putrāṁś ca mahānubhāvān
Bhīṣma said: “O great-souled one, that Supreme Brahman is indeed the highest. By the power of yoga, a perfected sage may, if he so wills, attain immediate liberation and realize the nature of the Supreme. Or, by that same yogic mastery, he may reach and enter into the presence of exalted divine powers—Brahmā the Lord, Viṣṇu the boon-giver, Bhava (Śiva), Dharma, and Ṣaḍānana (Kārttikeya), as well as the illustrious mind-born sons of Brahmā (such as the Sanakas). Yet the teaching makes clear that true accomplishment is not mere display of power: the highest aim is release into Brahman, while all other attainments remain secondary possibilities within the moral discipline of yoga.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse places liberation in Brahman as the highest goal; yogic powers may grant access to divine realms and beings, but these are secondary to mokṣa and should be governed by dharma and disciplined yoga.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on spiritual and ethical principles; here he describes the capacities of a yoga-perfected person—either attaining immediate liberation or, if he chooses, approaching and entering the spheres of major deities and exalted sages.