Shloka 13

Śakra–Namuci-saṃvāda: Śoka-nivāraṇa and Daiva-vicāra

Indra and Namuci on grief, composure, and inevitability

Devanagari script

तेषु कर्मविसर्गश्न सर्वतत्त्वार्थनिश्चय:ः । तमाहु: परम॑ शुक्र बुद्धिरित्यव्ययं महत्‌

Transliteration

teṣu karmavisargaś ca sarvatattvārthaniścayaḥ | tam āhuḥ paramaṁ śukraṁ buddhir ity avyayaṁ mahat ||

Translation

Bhīṣma berkata: “Dengan melepaskan arus tindakan yang mengalir menuju indria dan objek-objeknya, muncullah kepastian yang tepat tentang makna seluruh prinsip (tattva). Kepastian itu disebut pengetahuan yang paling murni dan tertinggi; itulah pula Kenyataan Agung yang tak binasa—Buddhi dalam makna tertinggi, keadaan Brahman—yang menuntun pada pembebasan.”

Word by Word

• {'teṣu': 'in/among those (i.e., in the sense-organs and their fields, as understood from context)', 'karma-visargaḥ': 'the ‘discharge’ or outward projection of action

• engagement/impulse toward activity (also: letting-go/cessation of action in the inward sense)', 'sarva-tattva-artha-niścayaḥ': 'firm ascertainment of the true meaning of all tattvas (fundamental principles of reality)', 'tam': 'that (state/knowledge)', 'āhuḥ': 'they call

• it is said', 'paramam': 'supreme, highest', 'śukram': 'bright, pure, stainless (metaphor for immaculate knowledge)', 'buddhiḥ': 'intellect/discriminative insight

• here, the highest discerning principle', 'iti': 'thus

• as', 'avyayam': 'imperishable, undecaying', 'mahat': 'great

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• buddhi
• śrotra (ear) (implied by the accompanying explanation)
• indriyas (sense-organs) (implied by the accompanying explanation)
• Brahman/Brahmapada (implied by the accompanying explanation)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Liberation-oriented knowledge arises when one withdraws from the outward propulsion of action and sense-engagement; this yields firm discernment of reality’s principles (tattvas). That clarity is described as supremely pure, imperishable, and ‘great’—the highest Buddhi/Brahman-state.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on the path of peace after the war, emphasizing inner discipline and metaphysical discernment as the means to attain the highest good (mokṣa).