Shloka 16

Adhyāya 249 — Mṛtyu-prādurbhāvaḥ (The Manifestation of Death) / Restraint of Tejas and Ordered Saṃhāra

Devanagari script

यां तरन्ति कृतप्रज्ञा धृतिमन्तो मनीषिण: । तां तीर्ण: सर्वतो मुक्तो विधृतात्मा55त्मविच्छुचि:

Transliteration

yāṃ taranti kṛtaprajñā dhṛtimanto manīṣiṇaḥ | tāṃ tīrṇaḥ sarvato mukto vidhṛtātmātmavicchuciḥ ||

Translation

Vyāsa berkata: “Keadaan (atau lintasan) yang dapat diseberangi oleh orang bijaksana—mereka yang pemahamannya telah sempurna dan tekadnya teguh—setelah diseberangi, seseorang menjadi bebas dari segala sisi. Dengan diri yang teratur dan disucikan oleh pengetahuan tentang Ātman, dia berdiri dalam pembebasan, terlepas daripada belenggu.”

Word by Word

याम्which (path/way) / whom

तरन्तिcross (over)

कृतप्रज्ञाःof accomplished/steady wisdom

धृतिमन्तःendowed with fortitude

मनीषिणःsages/wise men

ताम्that (same) (path/way)

तीर्णःhaving crossed

सर्वतःfrom all sides / in every way

मुक्तःfreed/liberated

विधृतात्माone whose self is well-controlled/steadied

आत्मवित्knower of the Self

शुचिःpure

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Liberation is attained by crossing beyond a binding condition through perfected discernment, steadfast resolve, and disciplined self-mastery; self-knowledge purifies and results in comprehensive freedom.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa states a general principle: the wise cross a difficult existential passage, and once they have crossed it, they become free—purified and stabilized through self-knowledge and inner discipline.