Shloka 94
देवतापितृप्रश्नः — Nārada at Badarīāśrama: the ultimate referent of daiva and pitṛ worship
उस धनसे क्या लाभ, जिसे मनुष्य न तो किसीको दे सकता और न अपने उपभोगमें ही ला सकता है? उस बलसे क्या लाभ, जिससे शत्रुओंको बाधित न किया जा सके? उस शास्त्रज्ञानसे क्या लाभ, जिसके द्वारा मनुष्य धर्माचरण न कर सके? और उस जीवात्मासे क्या लाभ, जो न तो जितेन्द्रिय है और न मनको ही वशमें रख सकता है? ।। भीष्म उवाच इदं द्वैपायनवचो हितमुक्त निशम्य तु । शुको गत: परित्यज्य पितरं मोक्षदैशिकम्,भीष्मजी कहते हैं--राजन्! व्यासजीके कहे हुए ये हितकर वचन सुनकर शुकदेवजी अपने पिताको छोड़कर मोक्षतत्त्वके उपदेशक गुरुके पास चले गये
bhīṣma uvāca | idaṃ dvaipāyanavaco hitam uktaṃ niśamya tu | śuko gataḥ parityajya pitaraṃ mokṣa-daiśikam |
Bhishma said: “O King, having heard these beneficial words spoken by Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa), Śuka departed—leaving his father, the teacher who instructs in liberation—and went onward in pursuit of the path of mokṣa.” The teaching around it declares that wealth, strength, learning, and even embodied life are meaningful only when they serve right conduct: wealth for giving and worthy enjoyment, strength for restraining harm, knowledge for practicing dharma, and inner life for self-mastery.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Value is measured by ethical efficacy: wealth matters when it can be given or rightly enjoyed; strength matters when it can restrain enemies/harms; learning matters when it enables dharma; and life/spirit matters when it is governed by self-control (jita-indriya, mastery of mind).
Bhishma reports that after hearing Vyāsa’s beneficial instruction, Śuka departs—leaving his father, renowned as a teacher of liberation—to continue his pursuit of mokṣa under further guidance, highlighting the primacy of liberation-oriented discipline.