Shloka 11
Adhyāya 302: Guṇa-vicāra, Gati-bheda, and the Imperishable State
Yājñavalkya–Janaka
भगवन् श्रोतुमिच्छामि परं ब्रह्म सनातनम् । यस्मान्न पुनरावृत्तिमाप्रुवन्ति मनीषिण:
bhagavan śrotum icchāmi paraṁ brahma sanātanam | yasmān na punarāvṛttim āpnuvanti manīṣiṇaḥ ||
«Vénérable, je désire entendre parler du Brahman suprême et éternel — Celui d’où les sages ne reviennent plus à l’existence mondaine.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames liberation (mokṣa) as attaining the supreme, eternal Brahman—an attainment described as ‘non-return’ (no re-entry into saṁsāra). It signals that true wisdom culminates in realizing/attaining that ultimate reality beyond cyclical rebirth.
Bhishma, in an instructive discourse of the Śānti Parva, addresses a revered interlocutor (teacher) and requests a description of the supreme Brahman—specifically the state or reality reaching which the wise do not come back to worldly life.