Shloka 25
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
मध्यस्थमेकमात्मानं पाप॑ं यस्मिन् न विद्यते । द्वितीयं कर्म विज्ञाय नूपते विषयैषिणाम्
madhyastham ekam ātmānaṁ pāpaṁ yasmin na vidyate | dvitīyaṁ karma vijñāya nūpate viṣayaiṣiṇām ||
ભીષ્મે કહ્યું— અંદર મધ્યસ્થ અને નિર્લેપ ભાવથી સ્થિત તે એક આત્માને જાણો, જેમાં પાપનો લેશ પણ નથી. અને આ પણ સમજો કે આત્માથી ભિન્ન ‘બીજું’ તત્ત્વ કર્મ છે—જે વિષયલોલુપ લોકોનું હોય છે.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes the pure, impartial Self—untainted by sin—from karma, which is treated as a secondary principle associated with people driven by desire for sense-objects. Ethical clarity comes from recognizing the Self as intrinsically unstained and seeing desire-based action as a separate, binding factor.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and liberation-oriented wisdom. Here he urges discernment: identify the inner Self as neutral and pure, and recognize that the compulsive activity of the sense-seeker is something other than that Self.