Shloka 129
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
इदं मे स्यादिदं नेति द्वन्द्वैर्मुक्तस्य मैथिल । कासि कस्य कुतो वेति वचनै: कि प्रयोजनम्
idaṃ me syād idaṃ neti dvandvair muktasya maithila | kāsi kasya kuto veti vacanaiḥ ki prayojanam mithilānareśa ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô roi de Mithilā, si tu es délivré des paires d’opposés qui font naître des pensées telles que “Que ceci m’échoie” et “Que cela n’advienne pas”, à quoi bon interroger par des mots comme : “Qui es-tu ? À qui appartiens-tu ? Ou d’où es-tu venu ?”»
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Freedom from dvandvas (dualities of desire and aversion) makes identity-based questioning—‘who are you, whose are you, where are you from’—ethically and spiritually secondary. The verse points to a liberated outlook where inner equanimity matters more than social labels or origins.
Bhishma addresses the king of Mithila (Janaka) and comments on a situation involving a woman being questioned. He argues that if one is truly beyond dualistic craving and fear, then interrogations about personal identity and provenance have little practical or spiritual value.