Shloka 44
Vyaktāvyakta-Viveka and Nivṛtti as Paramā Gati
Manifest–Unmanifest Discrimination and the Supreme Path of Withdrawal
स्वप्नयोगे यथैवात्मा पज्चेन्द्रियसमायुत: । देहमुत्सज्य वै याति तथैवात्मोपलभ्यते
svapnayoge yathaivātmā pañcendriyasamāyutaḥ | deham utsṛjya vai yāti tathaivātmopalabhyate ||
Bhishma dijo: «Así como, en el estado de sueño, el ser—acompañado por los cinco sentidos—parece abandonar este cuerpo y desplazarse a otro lugar, del mismo modo, tras la muerte, se entiende que el ser parte de este cuerpo y asume otra encarnación».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the dream-state as an analogy to explain transmigration: the self is not confined to one body, and after death it departs and takes another embodiment, much as it seems to ‘go elsewhere’ in dreams while still associated with sensory faculties.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction on peace and right understanding, Bhishma is teaching about the nature of the self and continuity beyond death, offering a philosophical explanation meant to reduce fear and support dharmic insight.