Shloka 23
Adhyāya 159 — Dāna–Dakṣiṇā, Āpaddharma Measures, and Prāyaścitta Classifications
येष्वावृत्तिभयं नास्ति परलोकभयं न च | नामिषेषु प्रसंगो5स्ति न प्रियेष्वप्रियेषु च
yeṣv āvṛttibhayaṁ nāsti paralokabhayaṁ na ca | nāmiṣeṣu prasaṅgo 'sti na priyeṣv apriyeṣu ca ||
जिन्हें पुनर्जन्म का भय नहीं, परलोक का भी भय नहीं; जिनकी भोगों में आसक्ति नहीं; और जिनमें प्रिय-अप्रिय के प्रति राग-द्वेष नहीं उठता—वे ही (शिष्ट) हैं।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Freedom is marked by fearlessness about rebirth and the afterlife, non-attachment to sensual enjoyments, and even-mindedness toward the pleasant and the unpleasant—i.e., the cessation of rāga-dveṣa (attachment-aversion).
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the path to inner peace after the war; here he describes the qualities of a liberated or spiritually mature person who is no longer driven by fear, craving, or emotional partiality.