Shloka 10
मनस्–बुद्धि–गुणविचारः (Manas–Buddhi–Guṇa Inquiry) — Meditation and Nirguṇa Realization
आत्मकेवलतां प्राप्तस्तत्र गत्वा न शोचति । ईदृशं परमं स्थान निरयास्ते च तादृशा:
ātmakevalatāṃ prāptas tatra gatvā na śocati | īdṛśaṃ paramaṃ sthānaṃ nirayās te ca tādṛśāḥ ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Hanya ia yang telah mencapai ātma-kaivalya—keadaan diri yang mutlak dan tunggal—yang pergi ke sana lalu terbebas dari duka. Demikianlah hakikat kediaman tertinggi itu; dan dibandingkan dengannya, bahkan dunia-dunia yang dahulu digambarkan penuh aneka kenikmatan sesungguhnya bagaikan neraka.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True freedom from grief arises only upon attaining ātma-kaivalya—abidance in the Self as the highest reality. Compared to that supreme state, even pleasure-filled heavenly experiences are inferior and are rhetorically likened to hell because they remain within change, dependence, and eventual loss.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhishma continues teaching about the highest goal. He contrasts the sorrowless peace of the supreme state with the limited nature of pleasure-based worlds, emphasizing the superiority of liberation over enjoyment.