Shloka 9
Vimokṣa-niścaya: Pañcaśikha’s Analysis of Aggregates, Guṇas, and Tyāga (मोक्षनिर्णयः)
पञ्चभूतात्मके देहे सत्त्वे राजसतामसे । कमभिष्ट्वते चायं क॑ वा55क्रोशति कि वदन्
pañcabhūtātmake dehe sattve rajasatāmase | kim abhiṣṭuvate cāyaṃ ka vā krośati kiṃ vadan ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ce corps est une modification des cinq grands éléments et il est conditionné par les trois qualités—sattva, rajas et tamas. Demeurant en lui, que pourrait dire de sensé le Soi immuable ? Qui pourrait-il blâmer ou louer, et sur quel fondement ?»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma emphasizes that praise and blame belong to the realm of the body-mind shaped by the five elements and the three guṇas. The true Self (ātman), being changeless, is not the real agent of such reactions; recognizing this supports equanimity and ethical restraint.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhishma continues a philosophical discourse on the nature of the Self versus the conditioned body. This verse argues for detachment from reactive judgment—praise and censure—by grounding identity in the avikāra ātman rather than in guṇa-driven states.