Shloka 13
Adhyāya 353 — Kathā-prāmāṇya (Authority of Transmission) and the Brāhmaṇa’s Ascetic Resolve
एवं हि परमात्मानं केचिदिच्छन्ति पण्डिता: । एकात्मानं तथा55त्मानमपरे ज्ञानचिन्तका:
evaṁ hi paramātmānaṁ kecid icchanti paṇḍitāḥ | ekātmānaṁ tathā ātmānam apare jñānacintakāḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “Thus, some learned men seek to attain the Supreme Self as something distinct from themselves. Others long to realize the Supreme as the one Self—non-different from their own being. Yet other contemplatives, devoted to knowledge, aim only at knowing and attaining the individual self.”
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse acknowledges multiple legitimate spiritual orientations: some approach the Supreme as transcendent and distinct, some as identical with one’s own Self (non-dual realization), and some focus on realizing the individual self through contemplative knowledge. It frames these as differing aims among the wise rather than outright contradictions.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, Bhīṣma is teaching about metaphysical goals and spiritual disciplines. Here he classifies seekers by how they conceive and pursue the highest reality—Supreme Self, one Self, or the individual self.