Shloka 9
सत्य–अनृत, प्रकाश–तमस्, स्वर्ग–नरक विवेचनम्
Truth and Untruth as Light and Darkness; Svarga and Naraka as Ethical Consequences
कीदृशो जीवतां जीव: कक््य वा गच्छन्ति ये मृता: । परलोकमिमं चापि सर्व शंसितुमरहसि,“जीवित प्राणियोंका जीवात्मा कैसा है? जो मर गये, वे कहाँ चले जाते हैं? तथा यह लोक और परलोक कैसा है? यह सब मुझे बतानेकी कृपा करें”
kīdṛśo jīvatāṃ jīvaḥ kva vā gacchanti ye mṛtāḥ | paralokam imaṃ cāpi sarvaṃ śaṃsitum arhasi ||
જીવતા પ્રાણીઓમાં રહેલો જીવાત્મા કેવો છે? જે મરી ગયા છે તેઓ ક્યાં જાય છે? તેમજ આ લોક અને પરલોક કેવા છે—આ બધું મને સંપૂર્ણ રીતે કહો.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a foundational dharmic inquiry: understanding the nature of the jīva (individual self), the post-death trajectory of beings, and the relation between this world and the next. Such knowledge is presented as necessary for orienting ethical life—how one should act when actions have consequences beyond a single lifetime.
In the instruction-heavy setting of the Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma—speaking as an elder authority—poses a direct question to the interlocutor/teacher, requesting a comprehensive explanation about the self, death, and the structure of worldly and otherworldly existence.