Shloka 20

Devanagari script

गुणहीनो हि त॑ मार्ग बहि: समनुवर्तते । गुणाभावात्‌ प्रकृत्या वा निस्तर्क्य ज्ञेयसम्मितम्‌,उक्त तपस्या आदि गुणोंसे रहित मनुष्य बाहर रहकर बाह्य मार्गका ही अनुसरण करता है। वह ज्ञेयस्वरूप परमात्मा गुणोंसे अतीत होनेके कारण स्वभावसे ही तर्कका विषय नहीं है

Transliteration

guṇahīno hi taṁ mārgaṁ bahiḥ samanuvartate | guṇābhāvāt prakṛtyā vā nistarkyaṁ jñeyasammitam ||

Translation

Bhishma dit : «L’homme dépourvu de vertus ne suit que la voie extérieure, demeurant au-dehors. Mais le Soi suprême—ultime objet de la connaissance—est au-delà des qualités (guṇa) ; par sa nature même, il ne peut être atteint ni mesuré par le seul raisonnement.»

Word by Word

गुणहीनःdevoid of qualities

हिindeed/for

तत्that

मार्गम्path/way

बहिःoutside

समनुवर्ततेfollows/keeps following

गुणाभावात्from the absence of qualities

प्रकृत्याby nature

वाor

निस्तर्क्यम्not amenable to reasoning

ज्ञेयसम्मितम्commensurate with/limited to the knowable (object of knowledge)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Paramatman (Supreme Self)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

External observances without inner virtues keep one on an ‘outer path.’ The ultimate reality (Paramatman), being beyond the guṇas, cannot be captured by argument alone; it is approached through inner purification, disciplined practice, and direct realization rather than mere debate.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhishma continues his discourse on dharma and spiritual attainment, contrasting superficial religiosity with genuine inner transformation and pointing to the transcendence of the Supreme Self beyond conceptual reasoning.