Shloka 14
बलीन्द्रसंवादः — Kāla, Anityatā, and the Limits of Agency
Mahābhārata 12.217
श्रियं दिव्यामभिप्रेप्सुर्वर्ष्मान् मनसा शुचि: । शारीरैनियमैश्ग्रैक्षरेन्नरिष्कल्मषं तप:
śriyaṃ divyām abhiprepsur varṣmān manasā śuciḥ | śārīra-niyamaiś ca ugraiḥ caret niriṣkalmaṣaṃ tapaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : « Celui qui aspire à la gloire divine — l’excellence spirituelle suprême — doit garder l’esprit pur. Tant qu’il demeure dans le corps, qu’il observe des disciplines corporelles rigoureuses et pratique une austérité sans tache, afin qu’elle devienne un moyen irréprochable d’atteindre une réalisation plus haute. »
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
To reach the highest spiritual good, one must purify the mind and support that inner purity with disciplined bodily observances; austerity should be ‘niriṣkalmaṣa’—free from ego, harm, and moral stain—so it becomes a legitimate means toward realization.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he emphasizes the ethical foundation of spiritual pursuit: aspiration for the divine must be matched by mental purity and rigorous, blameless practice.