Shloka 54
मनु-उपदेशः — भूत-उत्पत्ति, इन्द्रिय-निवृत्ति, तथा पर-स्वभाव-विवेकः
Manu’s Instruction on Elemental Origination, Sense-Withdrawal, and Discrimination of the Supreme Nature
महानद्या हि पारज्ञस्तप्यते न तदन्यथा । न तु तप्यति तत्त्वज्ञ: फले ज्ञाते तरत्युत
mahānadyā hi pārajñas tapyate na tad anyathā | na tu tapyati tattvajñaḥ phale jñāte taraty uta ||
Dijo Bhishma: «Quien solo conoce el vado de un gran río no queda por ello cumplido; mientras no alcance de verdad la otra orilla en barca u otro medio, permanece atormentado por la ansiedad. Pero el conocedor de la realidad cruza el océano del devenir por el conocimiento mismo; no arde en aflicción, pues ese conocimiento es en sí un puente».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Mere conceptual information is not the same as attainment: knowing a route does not end anxiety until one actually crosses. In contrast, true knowledge (tattva-jñāna)—realization of reality—functions as the very means of liberation and carries one beyond saṃsāra, removing inner distress.
In Bhishma’s instruction during the Shanti Parva, he uses a practical simile: a person who only knows the ford of a vast river still suffers until he reaches the opposite bank. He then applies the image to spiritual life, asserting that the realized knower crosses the ‘ocean of the world’ through knowledge itself.