Shloka 8
Adhyāya 353 — Kathā-prāmāṇya (Authority of Transmission) and the Brāhmaṇa’s Ascetic Resolve
चिन्तयामि गति चास्य न गतिं वेझि चोत्तराम् । यथाज्ञानं तु वक्ष्यामि पुरुषं तु सनातनम्
cintayāmi gatiṃ cāsya na gatiṃ vetsi cottarām | yathājñānaṃ tu vakṣyāmi puruṣaṃ tu sanātanam ||
Bhīṣma said: “I reflect upon the course of this being—yet even I do not fully grasp that supreme destination. Still, according to the understanding available to me, I shall describe the Eternal Person. For among embodied creatures, none truly knows by what manner they enter into bodies and depart from them; therefore I contemplate their movement through the disciplines of Sāṅkhya and Yoga, and speak as far as insight permits.”
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even great sages acknowledge limits in knowing the ‘supreme gati’ (ultimate destiny) of embodied beings; nevertheless, through Sāṅkhya (discernment) and Yoga (discipline), one can meaningfully speak about the Sanātana Puruṣa—the eternal conscious principle beyond bodily coming and going.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma addresses a metaphysical question about how beings take birth and depart. He admits that the highest truth is difficult to grasp fully, then proceeds to teach what he understands about the Eternal Person using the frameworks of Sāṅkhya and Yoga.