Shloka 17
जनकस्य मोक्षमार्गप्रश्नः तथा पञ्चशिखोपदेश-प्रस्तावः | Janaka’s Path to Liberation: Prelude to Pañcaśikha’s Instruction
बीजान्यग्न्युपदग्धानि न रोहन्ति यथा पुन: । ज्ञानदग्धैस्तथा क्लेशैरनत्मा सम्पद्यते पुनः:
bījāny agny-upadagdhāni na rohanti yathā punaḥ | jñāna-dagdhais tathā kleśair anātmā sampadyate punaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : « De même que les graines brûlées par le feu ne germent plus, ainsi, lorsque les afflictions nées de l’ignorance sont consumées par le feu de la connaissance véritable, l’être incarné ne revient plus prendre naissance en ce monde. »
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberating knowledge functions like fire: it burns the roots of suffering (kleśas) such as ignorance, and when these causes are destroyed, the cycle of rebirth does not continue—just as burned seeds cannot germinate.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira using a vivid analogy: the destruction of the causes of bondage through knowledge prevents further return to saṃsāra.