Shloka 58
Saṃhāra-krama (The Sequence of Cosmic Dissolution) — Yājñavalkya’s Discourse
परं हि तद् ब्रह्म महन्महात्मन् ब्रह्माणमीशं वरदं च विष्णुम् भवं च धर्म च षडाननं च यद् ब्रह्मपुत्रांश्व महानुभावान्
paraṁ hi tad brahma mahan-mahātman brahmāṇam īśaṁ varadaṁ ca viṣṇum bhavaṁ ca dharmaṁ ca ṣaḍānanaṁ ca yad brahma-putrāṁś ca mahānubhāvān
Bhīṣma berkata: “Wahai yang berhati agung! Itulah Brahman Tertinggi, yang sungguh paling utama. Seorang mahātmā yang telah sempurna dalam yoga, bila ia menghendaki, dapat seketika mencapai mokṣa dan menyadari hakikat Parabrahman; atau, dengan daya yoganya, ia dapat mencapai dan memasuki hadirat kekuatan-kekuatan ilahi: Brahmā Sang Īśa, Viṣṇu sang pemberi anugerah, Bhava (Śiva), Dharma, dan Ṣaḍānana (Kārttikeya), serta para putra Brahmā yang termasyhur (seperti para Sanaka).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse places liberation in Brahman as the highest goal; yogic powers may grant access to divine realms and beings, but these are secondary to mokṣa and should be governed by dharma and disciplined yoga.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on spiritual and ethical principles; here he describes the capacities of a yoga-perfected person—either attaining immediate liberation or, if he chooses, approaching and entering the spheres of major deities and exalted sages.