Shloka 166
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
तस्य ते मुक्तसड्रस्य पाशानाक्रम्य तिष्ठतः । छत्रादिषु विशेषेषु पुन: सड़: कथ्थ नृप
tasya te muktasaṅgasya pāśān ākrāmya tiṣṭhataḥ | chatrādiṣu viśeṣeṣu punaḥ saṅgaḥ kathaṃ nṛpa ||
भीष्म बोले—हे नृप! तुम तो आसक्ति से मुक्त होकर बन्धनों को रौंदकर स्थित हो; फिर छत्र आदि विशेष राजचिह्नों में पुनः आसक्ति कैसे हो सकती है?
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
True liberation is marked by freedom from attachment; once one has understood and internalized the path to mokṣa, clinging to status-symbols (like royal insignia) is inconsistent with that realization.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhīṣma admonishes the king: having learned the doctrine of release and having ‘trampled the bonds,’ why does he still feel attraction toward royal privileges and external marks of sovereignty?