Shloka 51
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
देहदोषांस्तथा ज्ञात्वा तेषां दुःखं च तत्त्वतः । देहविक्लवतां चैव सम्यग विज्ञाय तत्त्वतः,देहके दोषोंको जानकर उनसे मिलनेवाले दुःखका भी यथार्थ ज्ञान प्राप्त करे। शरीरकी व्याकुलताको भी ठीक-ठीक जाननेका प्रयत्न करे
dehadoṣāṁs tathā jñātvā teṣāṁ duḥkhaṁ ca tattvataḥ | dehaviklavtāṁ caiva samyag vijñāya tattvataḥ ||
Bhishma said: Having recognized the faults inherent in the body, one should also understand, in truth, the suffering that arises from them. Likewise, one should correctly discern—just as it really is—the body’s frailty and agitation. In this instruction, Bhishma urges a clear-eyed, ethical detachment: by seeing bodily limitation and its consequent pain without self-deception, a person becomes fit for steadiness, restraint, and higher discernment.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
To cultivate truthful discernment about the body: recognize its inherent defects, understand the suffering that follows from them, and clearly perceive bodily frailty. This realism supports ethical steadiness and detachment, reducing delusion-driven attachment.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma continues instructing Yudhishthira on dharma and the path to peace after the war. Here he emphasizes reflective insight into embodied suffering as part of a broader teaching on restraint, dispassion, and right understanding.