Shloka 2
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
संन्यस्यते यथा55त्मायं व्यक्तस्यात्मा यथा च यत् । परं मोक्षस्य यच्चापि तनमे ब्रूहि पितामह
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | saṁnyasyate yathātmāyaṁ vyaktasyātmā yathā ca yat | paraṁ mokṣasya yaccāpi tan me brūhi pitāmaha ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Grandfather, tell me how this self casts off its identifications—how the embodied self relinquishes the manifest (gross) body, and in what manner the self also abandons the subtle sense of ‘I’ bound up with embodiment. Explain to me the true nature of such renunciation, and also the highest principle of liberation (mokṣa).”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames liberation as a matter of renunciation of identification: understanding how the self disengages from the manifest (gross) body and also from subtler layers of embodied ‘I’-sense, and seeking the supreme principle (tattva) of mokṣa beyond both.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and dharma, Yudhiṣṭhira respectfully questions Pitāmaha Bhīṣma, asking for a precise explanation of how renunciation operates at death and in spiritual practice, and what constitutes true liberation.