Shloka 23
Mokṣa–Saṃnyāsa–Tyāga–Guṇa-Vibhāga (Renunciation, Relinquishment, and the Three Guṇas) — Mahābhārata 6, Bhīṣma-parva
य एवं वेत्ति पुरुष प्रकृतिं च गुणै: सह । सर्वथा वर्तमानो5पि न स भूयो&भिजायते,इस प्रकार पुरुषको और गुणोंके सहित प्रकृतिको जो मनुष्य तत्त्वसे जानता हैः, वह सब प्रकारसे कर्तव्य-कर्म करता हुआ भी फिर नहीं जन्मता*
arjuna uvāca | ya evaṁ vetti puruṣaṁ prakṛtiṁ ca guṇaiḥ saha | sarvathā vartamāno 'pi na sa bhūyo 'bhijāyate ||
Arjuna said: Whoever truly understands the Self (puruṣa) and material nature (prakṛti) together with its qualities (guṇas), that person—though continuing to act in every circumstance—does not come to birth again. The teaching frames right knowledge as liberating: action performed while seeing the distinction between the witnessing Self and nature’s modes no longer binds one to the cycle of rebirth.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation comes from true discernment: knowing the conscious Self (puruṣa) as distinct from nature (prakṛti) and its guṇas. With this knowledge, actions continue outwardly, but they no longer generate binding karma, so rebirth ceases.
In the Bhīṣma Parva’s Bhagavadgītā discourse on the battlefield, Arjuna speaks while engaging with Kṛṣṇa’s teaching about puruṣa–prakṛti and the guṇas, affirming the point that right understanding frees one even amid ongoing action.