Shloka 29
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
नानाभूतस्य दैत्येन्द्र तस्यैकत्वं वदत्ययम् । जन्तुः पश्यति विज्ञानात् ततो ब्रह्म प्रकाशते
nānābhūtasya daityendra tasyāikatvaṃ vadaty ayam | jantuḥ paśyati vijñānāt tato brahma prakāśate ||
Bhishma berkata: “Wahai raja para Daitya, meski Yang Mahatinggi tampak dalam banyak rupa, ajaran Veda ini menyatakan keesaan hakiki-Nya. Ketika makhluk hidup melihat dengan pengetahuan pembedaan, Brahman pun tersingkap—bercahaya di dalam budi sebagai kesadaran langsung.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that despite the Supreme appearing in diverse forms, the śruti (Vedic revelation) affirms an underlying unity; through vijñāna (discriminative, higher knowledge), the jīva comes to direct realization, and Brahman becomes manifest in the intellect as lived insight.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhishma addresses a 'Daityendra' and explains a Vedantic point: multiplicity is an appearance, while the ultimate reality is one; realization arises when the seeker’s understanding matures into direct seeing.