Shloka 4

इन्द्रेण वृत्रवधः, ब्रह्महत्याया अनुगमनम्, तथा च विभाजन-निवासविधानम्

Indra’s defeat of Vṛtra; pursuit by Brahmahatyā; allocation of her abodes

Devanagari script

पूर्वे समुद्रे यः पन्‍्था: स न गच्छति पश्चिमम्‌ एक: पन्था हि मोक्षस्य तन्मे विस्तरत: शृणु

Transliteration

pūrve samudre yaḥ panthāḥ sa na gacchati paścimam | ekaḥ panthā hi mokṣasya tan me vistarataḥ śṛṇu ||

Translation

Bhishma dijo: «Un camino que conduce al océano oriental no puede, siendo el mismo camino, llegar al océano occidental. Del mismo modo, la liberación tiene un único sendero verdadero. Escucha de mí, con detalle, cuál es ese sendero».

Word by Word

• {'pūrve': 'in the east

• eastern', 'samudre': 'in the ocean/sea', 'yaḥ': 'which

• who', 'panthāḥ': 'path

• course', 'saḥ': 'that (path)

• it', 'na': 'not', 'gacchati': 'goes

• reaches', 'paścimam': 'to the west

• western', 'ekaḥ': 'one

• single', 'hi': 'indeed

• for', 'mokṣasya': 'of liberation

• of mokṣa', 'tan': 'that', 'me': 'from me

• my', 'vistarataḥ': 'in detail

• expansively', 'śṛṇu': 'hear

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• mokṣa
• eastern ocean
• western ocean

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Liberation (mokṣa) is not attained by contradictory or divergent aims; it requires a single, consistent spiritual direction. Bhīṣma uses the image of a road to the eastern sea that cannot simultaneously reach the western sea to stress one-pointed commitment to the means of mokṣa.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and higher goals after the war. Here he introduces a focused teaching on mokṣa, preparing to explain—step by step—the disciplined path that leads to liberation.