Shloka 107
नारद–शुक संवादः
Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga
तथैव महतः स्थानमाहड्कारिकमेव च । अहड्कारात् परं चापि स्थानानि समवाप्नुयात्
tathaiva mahataḥ sthānam ahaṅkārikam eva ca | ahaṅkārāt paraṃ cāpi sthānāni samavāpnuyāt ||
Bhīṣma said: “So too, one attains the realm of Mahat by worshipping the Mahat principle, and the realm of Ahaṅkāra by worshipping Ahaṅkāra. Yet one should strive to reach states higher even than Mahat and Ahaṅkāra—subtler and more excellent than these.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Devotion or contemplation directed to a given cosmic principle yields the corresponding attainment (Mahat or Ahaṅkāra), but the aspirant should not stop there; one should seek what is higher than these—pointing toward the supreme liberation beyond all evolutes of Prakṛti.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on liberation and philosophical discernment, Bhīṣma explains graded spiritual attainments: worship of Mahat leads to Mahat, worship of Ahaṅkāra leads to Ahaṅkāra, yet the seeker is urged to pursue the higher goal beyond both.