Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 110
नारद–शुक संवादः
Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga
दुर्ग जन्म निधनं चापि राजन् न भौतिक ज्ञानविदो वदन्ति | यज्ैस्तपो भिनिययमैर््रतैश्व दिवं समासाद्य पतन्ति भूमौ
durgaṃ janma nidhanaṃ cāpi rājan na bhautikaṃ jñānavido vadanti | yajñais tapobhir niyamair vratais ca divaṃ samāsādya patanti bhūmau ||
ビーシュマは言った。「王よ、智慧を知る者たちは、身を受けての生と死は越え難き要塞であると説く。祭祀、苦行、戒め、誓願によって天界に至ることはできよう。だがその功徳が尽きれば、再び地上へと堕ちる。ゆえに儀礼の手段は、ついには世の流転の危難を超えさせはしない。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual merit (yajña, tapas, niyama, vrata) can lead to heaven, but it is not final liberation; when merit ends, one returns to earthly existence. True transcendence of birth and death requires wisdom that goes beyond merely accumulating punya.
In the Śānti Parva instruction, Bhīṣma continues advising King Yudhiṣṭhira on the limits of ritual action and the need for higher knowledge: heaven is temporary, while the problem of repeated birth and death remains unless one seeks a liberating insight.