Shloka 23
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
सक्तमात्मानमीशे च देवे नारायणो तथा । देवं मोक्षे च संसक्त मोक्ष सक्ते तु न क्वचित्
saktam ātmānam īśe ca deve nārāyaṇo tathā | devaṁ mokṣe ca saṁsaktaṁ mokṣa-sakte tu na kvacit ||
ビーシュマは言った。「個の自己は主に依り、主もまたナーラーヤナ（Nārāyaṇa）に依る。ナーラーヤナはさらにモークシャ（Mokṣa）—至上の解脱—と結びつくと言われる。だがモークシャは何ものにも依らず、自らの本性において自立している。」かくしてこの教えは、具身の自己から無条件の根拠へと支えの位階を示し、解脱こそが最後の、自足する基盤であることを明らかにする。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a chain of dependence: the individual self relies on the Lord; the Lord is identified with/grounded in Nārāyaṇa; Nārāyaṇa is connected with Mokṣa (the supreme release). Mokṣa alone is independent—self-established—indicating liberation as the ultimate, unconditioned reality.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the highest good. Here he shifts to a metaphysical explanation, describing how all conditioned beings and divine forms ultimately point toward Mokṣa as the final, self-sufficient principle.