Shloka 176
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
यदि वाप्यस्पृशन्त्या मे स्पर्श जानासि कठ्चन । ज्ञानं कृतमबीजं ते कथं तेनेह भिक्षुणा,यद्यपि मैं स्पर्श नहीं कर रही हूँ तो भी यदि आप मेरे स्पर्शका अनुभव करते हैं तो मुझे यह कहना पड़ता है कि उन संन्यासी महात्मा पंचशिखने आपको ज्ञानका उपदेश कैसे कर दिया? क्योंकि आपने उसे निर्बीज कर दिया?
yadi vāpy aspṛśantyā me sparśaṁ jānāsi kaścana | jñānaṁ kṛtam abījaṁ te kathaṁ teneha bhikṣuṇā ||
Bhishma dijo: «Aunque yo no te toque, si afirmas percibir de algún modo mi contacto, entonces debo preguntar: ¿cómo pudo aquel mendicante, el sabio Pañcaśikha, lograr transmitirte aquí el verdadero conocimiento? Pues has vuelto ese conocimiento “sin semilla”, incapaz de dar fruto, al aferrarte a la mera sensación y al engaño.»
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma criticizes a mind that mistakes imagined sensation for reality. If one remains trapped in sensory fixation and confusion, even profound instruction becomes “abīja” (seedless)—it cannot mature into realization or ethical transformation.
Bhīṣma addresses an interlocutor who claims to feel ‘touch’ despite no contact. Using this as evidence of delusion, he questions how the ascetic teacher Pañcaśikha could have successfully transmitted liberating knowledge, since the listener’s misunderstanding has made that teaching fruitless.