Shloka 21
मोक्षधर्मः — स्नेहपाशच्छेदः
Mokṣa-dharma: Cutting the Bonds of Attachment
विजानतां मोक्ष एष श्रम: स्यादविजानताम् । मोक्षयानमिदं कृत्स्नं विदुषां हारितो5ब्रवीत्,यह संन्यासाश्रम ज्ञानियोंके लिये तो मोक्षरूप है, परंतु अज्ञानियोंके लिये श्रमरूप ही है। हारीत मुनिने विद्वानोंके लिये इस सम्पूर्ण धर्मको मोक्षका विमान बताया है
vijānātāṁ mokṣa eṣa śramaḥ syād avijānātām | mokṣayānam idaṁ kṛtsnaṁ viduṣāṁ hārito ’bravīt ||
Bhishma dijo: «Para quienes comprenden de verdad, esta misma disciplina se vuelve liberación; para quienes no comprenden, se convierte en mero esfuerzo. El sabio Hārita ha declarado que, para los prudentes, todo este sendero del dharma es un “vehículo hacia el moksha”: un medio que conduce a la libertad».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The same religious discipline—especially renunciation grounded in insight—liberates the one who understands its purpose, but becomes mere exhausting ritual for one who lacks true knowledge. Wisdom transforms practice into moksha; ignorance reduces it to labor.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira and supports his point by citing the authority of the sage Hārita, who calls the complete dharmic path a ‘vehicle to moksha’ for the wise.