Shloka 8
मनस्–बुद्धि–गुणविचारः (Manas–Buddhi–Guṇa Inquiry) — Meditation and Nirguṇa Realization
चतुर्लक्षणवर्ज तु चतुष्कारणवर्जितम् | अप्रहर्षमनानन्दमशोकं विगतक्क्लमम्
caturlakṣaṇavarjaṃ tu catuṣkāraṇavarjitam | apraharṣam anānandam aśokaṃ vigataklamam ||
Bhīṣma berkata: Keadaan tertinggi itu bebas dari empat tanda—melihat, mendengar, berpikir, dan mengetahui. Ia melampaui empat sarana yang melahirkan pengetahuan biasa: persepsi langsung, inferensi, perbandingan, dan kesaksian kata-kata. Di sana tidak timbul kegirangan karena memperoleh yang diinginkan, dan tidak pula kenikmatan yang lahir dari menikmatinya. Ia sepenuhnya bebas dari duka dan dari keletihan.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma describes liberation as a condition beyond the ordinary operations of mind and senses and beyond the usual instruments of knowing (pramāṇas). Because it is not an object of acquisition or enjoyment, it is untouched by elation, pleasure, grief, or fatigue—pointing to equanimity and transcendence of worldly dualities.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the highest good. Here he characterizes the ultimate state (mokṣa/brahma-nirvāṇa) by negation—explaining what it is not—so the listener does not mistake it for any sensory, emotional, or conceptual experience.