Shloka 37
बलीन्द्रसंवादः — Kāla, Anityatā, and the Limits of Agency
Mahābhārata 12.217
विकार प्रकृतिं चैव पुरुषं च सनातनम् । यो यथावद् विजानाति स वितृष्णो विमुच्यते,जो प्रकृतिको, उसके कार्यको, पुरुष (जीवात्मा) को और सनातन परमात्माको यथार्थ रूपसे जानता है, वह तृष्णासे रहित होकर मोक्ष प्राप्त कर लेता है
vikāra-prakṛtiṁ caiva puruṣaṁ ca sanātanam | yo yathāvad vijānāti sa vitṛṣṇo vimucyate ||
Dijo Bhishma: Quien conoce de manera correcta la transformación, la Naturaleza primordial (Prakṛti) y también al eterno Puruṣa—el sí mismo consciente—tal como son en verdad, queda libre del deseo y alcanza la liberación.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation arises from accurate discernment: knowing (1) vikāra—changing phenomena, (2) prakṛti—the material source of those changes, and (3) puruṣa—the eternal conscious principle. This clear knowledge dissolves craving (tṛṣṇā), and with desire extinguished, one is freed.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on the path to peace after the war. Here he frames mokṣa as the fruit of philosophical discernment (Sāṅkhya-like analysis) rather than external achievement, emphasizing inner renunciation through right understanding.