Shloka 48
Śakra–Namuci-saṃvāda: Śoka-nivāraṇa and Daiva-vicāra
Indra and Namuci on grief, composure, and inevitability
यथा रुरु: शृड्रमथो पुराणं हित्वा त्वचं वाप्युरगो यथा च । विहाय गच्छत्यनवेक्षमाण- स्तथा विमुक्तो विजहाति दुःखम्
yathā ruruḥ śṛṅgam atho purāṇaṃ hitvā tvacaṃ vāpy urago yathā ca | vihāya gacchaty anavekṣamāṇas tathā vimukto vijahāti duḥkham ||
ビーシュマは言った。「ルル鹿が古い角を捨て、蛇が脱皮してそれを振り返らずに去るように、解脱した人もまた—我がものという執着と我慢を離れて—悲しみを捨て、世の束縛を後にする。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Suffering is abandoned when one becomes vimukta—free from attachment, possessiveness (mamatā), and ego (abhimāna). The verse stresses moving forward without clinging to what has been outgrown, just as animals naturally discard what is no longer needed.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the path to inner peace. Here he uses vivid natural metaphors—shedding an old horn and sloughing skin—to illustrate how a liberated person leaves worldly bonds behind and thereby leaves sorrow behind.