Shloka 131
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
त्रिवर्ग सप्तधा व्यक्त यो न वेदेह कर्मसु । सड़वान् यस्त्रिवर्गंण कि तस्मिन् मुक्तलक्षणम्
trivargaḥ saptadhā vyakto yo na veda iha karmasu | saḍvān yas trivargaṃ ca kiṃ tasmin muktalakṣaṇam ||
Bhishma said: “The three aims of life—dharma, artha, and kāma—are manifested here in action in seven distinct modes. If a man does not understand this threefold aim as it operates within deeds, and if another is ever bound up with the threefold aim, what mark of liberation-while-living (jīvanmukti) could possibly be found in such a person?”
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation is not compatible with ignorance of how dharma–artha–kāma function within action, nor with continual entanglement in them; true freedom requires discernment and non-attachment beyond the trivarga.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on conduct and liberation, Bhishma challenges the idea of jīvanmukti by asking how it could be attributed to someone who either does not understand the trivarga in practical life or remains constantly tied to it.