Shloka 102
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
अनादिमध्यनिधन निर्दद्ध कर्त शाश्वतम् कूटस्थं चैव नित्यं च यद् वदन्ति मनीषिण:,वह ब्रह्म आदि, मध्य और अन्तसे रहित, निर्द्धन्द्ध, जगतकी उत्पत्तिका हेतुभूत, शाश्वत, कूटस्थ और नित्य है, ऐसा मनीषी पुरुष कहते हैं
anādimadhyanidhanaṃ nirdvandvaṃ kartṛ śāśvatam | kūṭasthaṃ caiva nityaṃ ca yad vadanti manīṣiṇaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: The wise declare Brahman to be without beginning, middle, or end—free from all dualities; the eternal ground that is the cause behind the world’s arising; unchanging, steadfast, and ever-existent. In this teaching, the highest ethical orientation is to recognize that the ultimate reality is not shaken by conflict or change, and to align one’s conduct with that steady truth rather than with transient oppositions.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Brahman, the highest reality, is described as beginningless, endless, beyond all dualities, and unchanging. The verse teaches that ultimate truth is stable and eternal, so wisdom and right conduct should be grounded in that unshaken reality rather than in temporary opposites and changing circumstances.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and liberation. Here he shifts to a philosophical definition of Brahman, presenting how sages characterize the absolute as eternal, non-dual, and the underlying cause of the world.