Shloka 5
Śrī–Indra–Bali Saṃvāda: The Departure and Fourfold Placement of Lakṣmī
स तेषां प्रेत्यभावे च प्रेत्यजातौ विनिश्षये । आगमस्थ: स भूयिष्ठमात्मतत्त्वे न तुष्यति
sa teṣāṃ pretyabhāve ca pretyajātau viniśṣaye | āgamasthaḥ sa bhūyiṣṭham ātmatattve na tuṣyati ||
शास्त्र-प्रमाण पर स्थित उन आचार्यों ने यह निश्चय कर रखा था कि देह-त्याग के बाद आत्मा रहती है या नहीं, और पुनर्जन्म होता है या नहीं; तथापि आत्मतत्त्व के विषय में उनके प्रतिपादन से राजा जनदेव को विशेष संतोष न हुआ।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that authoritative, scripture-based conclusions about post-death existence and rebirth may still fail to satisfy a sincere seeker unless they illuminate ātmatattva—directly clarifying the nature of the Self and its moral implications.
Bhishma reports that various teachers had offered definitive, āgama-based views on whether the jīva persists after death and whether it is reborn; yet King Janadeva remained unconvinced and unsatisfied with their accounts of the Self’s true nature.