Vimokṣa-niścaya: Pañcaśikha’s Analysis of Aggregates, Guṇas, and Tyāga (मोक्षनिर्णयः)
भीष्म उवाच दोषैर्मूलादवच्चिन्नैरविंशुद्धात्मा विमुच्यते । विनाशयति सम्भूतमयस्मयमयो यथा । तथा कृतात्मा सहजैदररषि्नश्यति तामसै:
bhīṣma uvāca doṣair mūlād avacchinnair aviśuddhātmā vimucyate | vināśayati sambhūtam ayasmayam ayo yathā | tathā kṛtātmā sahajair doṣair naśyati tāmasaiḥ ||
Bhishma berkata: Wahai Raja, ketika cacat-cacat batin diputus bersama akar-akarnya, batin yang dahulu ternoda menjadi suci dan manusia terbebas dari belenggu dunia. Seperti alat dari besi memutus rantai besi dan dalam prosesnya sendiri pun terkikis, demikian pula intelek yang terlatih dan disucikan memusnahkan cela-cela bawaan yang lahir dari tamas; dan setelah pemusnahan itu tercapai, ia pun menjadi hening dan beristirahat.
भीष्म उवाच
Freedom comes when defects are removed along with their root-cause (ignorance/delusion). A purified, disciplined intellect can eliminate innate tamasic tendencies; once its task is done, even that corrective instrument becomes still, indicating the settling of mental activity after purification.
In the Śānti Parva instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīṣma explains a method of inner purification: destroy faults at their source. He illustrates it with a simile—iron cutting iron—showing how a tool used to remove bondage may itself be worn away, paralleling how the refined intellect quiets after removing tamasic defects.