Shloka 22
यदा मृतं च स्वजन न ज्ञास्यसि कदाचन । सुखितं दुःखितं वापि ननु बोद्धव्यमात्मना,“अथवा जब कोई स्वजन मरकर इस लोकसे चला जायगा, तब उसके विषयमें यह कभी नहीं जान सकोगे कि वह सुखी है या दुखी, अतः इस विषयमें तुम्हें स्वयं ही विचार करना चाहिये”
yadā mṛtaṃ ca svajanaṃ na jñāsyasi kadācana | sukhitaṃ duḥkhitaṃ vāpi nanu boddhavyam ātmanā ||
Dijo Bhishma: «Cuando un pariente ha muerto y ha partido de este mundo, jamás podrás saber de verdad si está dichoso o afligido. Por eso, debes reflexionar tú mismo sobre este asunto.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Since the post-death state of a departed relative cannot be known with certainty, one should not let speculative beliefs govern one’s conduct; instead, one must use one’s own discernment and inner reflection to act rightly.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction, Bhishma counsels the listener on how to think about death and bereavement, emphasizing the limits of knowledge about the dead and urging personal contemplation as the basis for ethical steadiness.