Shloka 8
Adhyāya 353 — Kathā-prāmāṇya (Authority of Transmission) and the Brāhmaṇa’s Ascetic Resolve
चिन्तयामि गति चास्य न गतिं वेझि चोत्तराम् । यथाज्ञानं तु वक्ष्यामि पुरुषं तु सनातनम्
cintayāmi gatiṃ cāsya na gatiṃ vetsi cottarām | yathājñānaṃ tu vakṣyāmi puruṣaṃ tu sanātanam ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Je médite sur la marche de cet être — et pourtant, moi-même, je ne saisis pas pleinement cette destination suprême. Néanmoins, selon l’intelligence qui m’est accessible, je décrirai la Personne éternelle. Car parmi les êtres incarnés, nul ne sait vraiment de quelle manière ils entrent dans les corps et les quittent ; c’est pourquoi je contemple ce mouvement par le Sāṅkhya et le Yoga, et je parle dans la mesure où la clairvoyance le permet.»
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even great sages acknowledge limits in knowing the ‘supreme gati’ (ultimate destiny) of embodied beings; nevertheless, through Sāṅkhya (discernment) and Yoga (discipline), one can meaningfully speak about the Sanātana Puruṣa—the eternal conscious principle beyond bodily coming and going.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma addresses a metaphysical question about how beings take birth and depart. He admits that the highest truth is difficult to grasp fully, then proceeds to teach what he understands about the Eternal Person using the frameworks of Sāṅkhya and Yoga.