Shloka 23
Adhyāya 159 — Dāna–Dakṣiṇā, Āpaddharma Measures, and Prāyaścitta Classifications
येष्वावृत्तिभयं नास्ति परलोकभयं न च | नामिषेषु प्रसंगो5स्ति न प्रियेष्वप्रियेषु च
yeṣv āvṛttibhayaṁ nāsti paralokabhayaṁ na ca | nāmiṣeṣu prasaṅgo 'sti na priyeṣv apriyeṣu ca ||
Bhīṣma dit : Ceux en qui il n’y a ni crainte de revenir à la naissance mondaine, ni crainte à l’égard de l’au-delà ; ceux qui ne s’emmêlent pas dans les plaisirs des sens ; et ceux en qui ne naissent ni attachement ni aversion pour l’agréable ou le désagréable—de tels êtres demeurent établis dans la liberté intérieure et l’équanimité.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Freedom is marked by fearlessness about rebirth and the afterlife, non-attachment to sensual enjoyments, and even-mindedness toward the pleasant and the unpleasant—i.e., the cessation of rāga-dveṣa (attachment-aversion).
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the path to inner peace after the war; here he describes the qualities of a liberated or spiritually mature person who is no longer driven by fear, craving, or emotional partiality.