Shloka 60
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
तमः श्वभ्रनिभं दृष्टवा वर्षबुद्बुदसंनिभम् । नाशप्रायं सुखाद्धीनं नाशोत्तरमिहावशम्,राजन्! भरतनन्दन! महाबुद्धिमान् सांख्यके विद्वान् सैकड़ों गुणोंके द्वारा गुणोंको, सैकड़ों दोषोंके द्वारा दोषोंको तथा सैकड़ों विचित्र हेतुओंसे विचित्र हेतुओंको तत्त्वतः जानकर व्यापक ज्ञानके प्रभावसे संसारको पानीके फेनके समान नश्वर, विष्णुकी सैकड़ों मायाओंसे ढँका हुआ, दीवारपर बने हुए चित्रके समान, नरकुलके समान सारहीन, अन्धकारसे भरे हुए गड़्ढेकी भाँति भयंकर, वर्षाकालके पानीके बुलबुलोंके समान क्षणभंगुर, सुखहीन, पराधीन, नष्टप्राय तथा कीचड़में फँसे हुए हाथीकी तरह रजोगुण और तमोगुणमें मग्न समझते हैं। इसलिये वे संतान आदिकी आसक्तिको दूर करके तपरूप दण्डसे युक्त विवेकरूपी शस्त्रसे राजस-तामस अशुभ गन्धोंको और सुन्दर शोभनीय सात््विक गन्धोंको तथा स्पर्शेन्द्रियके देहाश्रित भोगोंकी आसक्तिको शीघ्र ही काट डालते हैं
tamaḥ śvabhranibhaṁ dṛṣṭvā varṣabudbudasaṁnibham | nāśaprāyaṁ sukhāddhīnaṁ nāśottaram ihāvaśam, rājan bharatanandana |
Bhishma said: “O king, delight of the Bharatas—having beheld this world as darkness like a deep chasm, as fleeting as rain-bubbles, almost perishing, devoid of true happiness, and helplessly driven toward destruction, the wise Sāṅkhya-knowers discern reality as it is. By the power of comprehensive knowledge they recognize saṁsāra as perishable like foam on water, veiled by countless māyās of Viṣṇu, insubstantial like a painted image on a wall, terrifying like a pit filled with gloom, momentary like monsoon bubbles, joyless, dependent, and sinking into rajas and tamas like an elephant stuck in mire. Therefore, cutting off attachment to progeny and other bonds, they swiftly sever—by the rod of austerity and the sword of discernment—both the unwholesome rajasic-tamasic impulses and even the subtle attractions of pleasant sāttvic enjoyments rooted in bodily sense-contact.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches dispassion through clear seeing: worldly life is dark, unstable, and ends in destruction; therefore the wise cultivate knowledge and discernment, restrain themselves through austerity, and cut attachment—not only to coarse rajasic-tamasic cravings but also to subtle, pleasant sattvic enjoyments that still bind the self to bodily experience.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue, Bhishma instructs King Yudhishthira on liberation-oriented ethics. Here he uses vivid metaphors (pit of darkness, foam, painted image, rain-bubbles, elephant in mire) to describe saṁsāra’s fragility and bondage, urging the king to value discriminative wisdom and disciplined renunciation over attachment to family and sensory life.