Shloka 37
बलीन्द्रसंवादः — Kāla, Anityatā, and the Limits of Agency
Mahābhārata 12.217
विकार प्रकृतिं चैव पुरुषं च सनातनम् । यो यथावद् विजानाति स वितृष्णो विमुच्यते
vikāra-prakṛtiṁ caiva puruṣaṁ ca sanātanam | yo yathāvad vijānāti sa vitṛṣṇo vimucyate ||
Bhīṣma dit : Celui qui connaît comme il se doit la transformation, la Nature primordiale (Prakṛti) et aussi le Puruṣa éternel—le Soi conscient—tels qu’ils sont réellement, devient sans désir et est délivré.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation arises from accurate discernment: knowing (1) vikāra—changing phenomena, (2) prakṛti—the material source of those changes, and (3) puruṣa—the eternal conscious principle. This clear knowledge dissolves craving (tṛṣṇā), and with desire extinguished, one is freed.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on the path to peace after the war. Here he frames mokṣa as the fruit of philosophical discernment (Sāṅkhya-like analysis) rather than external achievement, emphasizing inner renunciation through right understanding.