Shloka 28
बलीन्द्रसंवादः — Kāla, Anityatā, and the Limits of Agency
Mahābhārata 12.217
सूक्ष्मं विशेषणं तेषामवेक्षेच्छास्त्रचक्षुषा । देहान्तं परमं विद्याद् विमुक्तमपरिग्रहम् । अन्तरिक्षादन्यतरं धारणासक्तमानसम्
bhīṣma uvāca | sūkṣmaṃ viśeṣaṇaṃ teṣām avekṣec chāstra-cakṣuṣā | dehāntaṃ paramaṃ vidyād vimuktam aparigraham | antarīkṣād anyataraṃ dhāraṇāsakta-mānasam ||
Bhishma dit : Avec l’œil des Écritures, il faut discerner le signe distinctif, subtil, de ces grandes âmes. Il faut connaître le Suprême comme ce qui est réalisé jusqu’au terme même du corps (jusqu’au dernier dépouillement) : toujours libre, sans possession ni saisie, plus subtil encore que l’espace — Cela même où l’esprit se fixe avec constance par la concentration yogique (dhāraṇā).
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Discern, through scriptural insight, the subtle hallmark of true spiritual attainment: knowledge of the Supreme that is ever-free and non-possessive, realized through steady yogic concentration (dhāraṇā) and maintained until the end of embodied life.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhishma continues advising the listener to evaluate saints/realized persons by a subtle criterion—scripturally grounded insight into the Supreme—and to pursue that same realization through disciplined concentration and renunciation.