Shloka 106

नारद–शुक संवादः

Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga

Devanagari script

न स्वाध्यायैस्तपोभिर्वा यज्जैर्वा कुरुनन्दन । लभते&व्यक्तिकं स्थान ज्ञात्वा व्यक्ते महीयते

Transliteration

na svādhyāyais tapobhir vā yajñair vā kurunandana | labhate ’vyaktikaṁ sthānaṁ jñātvā vyakte mahīyate ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : «Ô joie des Kuru, on n’atteint pas l’état de l’Inmanifesté par la seule étude védique, les austérités ou les sacrifices. C’est en connaissant directement la Réalité manifestée que l’homme devient véritablement exalté. Ces disciplines ne sont que des appuis pour la vision ; la délivrance s’enracine dans une connaissance claire, non dans le rite ou l’effort seuls.»

Word by Word

• {'na': 'not', 'svādhyāyaiḥ': 'by self-study

• recitation and study of the Veda (instrumental plural)', 'tapobhiḥ': 'by austerities

• ascetic discipline (instrumental plural)', 'vā': 'or', 'yajñaiḥ': 'by sacrifices

• ritual offerings (instrumental plural)', 'kurunandana': 'O delight of the Kurus (address to Yudhiṣṭhira)', 'labhate': 'attains

• obtains', 'avyaktikam': 'pertaining to the Unmanifest (Brahman/Prakṛti beyond sensory manifestation)', 'sthānam': 'state

• station', 'jñātvā': 'having known

• having realized', 'vyakte': 'in/with regard to the Manifest (the knowable, directly apprehended reality)', 'mahīyate': 'is honored

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Kurunandana (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Ritual study (svādhyāya), austerity (tapas), and sacrifice (yajña) by themselves do not grant the highest liberation; they are preparatory aids. True elevation comes from direct knowledge/realization—clear insight into reality—rather than from external religious acts alone.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s post-war instruction, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on the path of peace and liberation. Here he redirects the king from reliance on meritorious practices alone toward the primacy of inner realization and discriminative understanding.