Shloka 43
धर्मस्य बहुद्वारत्वम् — Nārada’s Audience with Indra (Śānti-parva 340)
मां प्रविश्य भवन्तीह मुक्ता भक्तास्तु ये मम । अहं हि पुरुषो ज्ञेयो निष्क्रिय: पजचविंशक:
māṁ praviśya bhavantīha muktā bhaktāstu ye mama | ahaṁ hi puruṣo jñeyo niṣkriyaḥ pañcaviṁśakaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : « Ceux qui me vouent leur dévotion obtiennent ici la délivrance en entrant en moi seul. Il faut me connaître comme le Puruṣa inactif — le vingt-cinquième principe — demeurant à l’écart de toute action et de tout changement. »
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation is attained through devotion that culminates in abiding in the Supreme/inner Self, which is to be known as the actionless Puruṣa—the twenty-fifth principle distinct from prakṛti and its changing constituents.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, Bhishma explains a metaphysical point to the listener: true devotees become free by entering into the Supreme reality, identified here with the niṣkriya (non-acting) Puruṣa.