Shloka 106

नारद–शुक संवादः

Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga

Devanagari script

न स्वाध्यायैस्तपोभिर्वा यज्जैर्वा कुरुनन्दन । लभते&व्यक्तिकं स्थान ज्ञात्वा व्यक्ते महीयते

Transliteration

na svādhyāyais tapobhir vā yajñair vā kurunandana | labhate ’vyaktikaṁ sthānaṁ jñātvā vyakte mahīyate ||

Translation

ビーシュマは言った。「おお、クル族の喜びよ。ヴェーダの学習（スヴァーディヤーヤ）、苦行（タパス）、祭祀（ヤジュニャ）だけによって無顕の境地は得られぬ。むしろ、顕現の実在を直知してこそ、人は真に高められる。それらの修行は悟りへの支えにすぎず、解脱は儀礼や努力のみではなく、明晰な知に根ざすのだ。」

Word by Word

• {'na': 'not', 'svādhyāyaiḥ': 'by self-study

• recitation and study of the Veda (instrumental plural)', 'tapobhiḥ': 'by austerities

• ascetic discipline (instrumental plural)', 'vā': 'or', 'yajñaiḥ': 'by sacrifices

• ritual offerings (instrumental plural)', 'kurunandana': 'O delight of the Kurus (address to Yudhiṣṭhira)', 'labhate': 'attains

• obtains', 'avyaktikam': 'pertaining to the Unmanifest (Brahman/Prakṛti beyond sensory manifestation)', 'sthānam': 'state

• station', 'jñātvā': 'having known

• having realized', 'vyakte': 'in/with regard to the Manifest (the knowable, directly apprehended reality)', 'mahīyate': 'is honored

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Kurunandana (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Ritual study (svādhyāya), austerity (tapas), and sacrifice (yajña) by themselves do not grant the highest liberation; they are preparatory aids. True elevation comes from direct knowledge/realization—clear insight into reality—rather than from external religious acts alone.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s post-war instruction, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on the path of peace and liberation. Here he redirects the king from reliance on meritorious practices alone toward the primacy of inner realization and discriminative understanding.