Shloka 7
Mokṣa-dharma Yoga-Upadeśa: Equanimity, Sense-Restraint, and Vision of the Ātman (आत्मदर्शन-योगोपदेशः)
नैव धर्मी न चाधर्मी पूर्वोपचितहायक: । धातुक्षयप्रशान्तात्मा निर्दन्दः स विमुच्यते,जिसकी न धर्ममें आसक्ति है न अधर्ममें, जो पूर्वसंचित कर्मोको त्याग चुका है, वासनाओंका क्षय हो जानेसे जिसका चित्त शान्त हो गया है तथा जो सब प्रकारके द्वन्धोंसे रहित है, वह मुक्त हो जाता है
naiva dharmī na cādharmī pūrvopacita-hāyakaḥ | dhātu-kṣaya-praśāntātmā nirdvandvaḥ sa vimucyate ||
नैव धर्मी न चाधर्मी पूर्वोपचितहायकः । धातुक्षयप्रशान्तात्मा निर्द्वन्द्वः स विमुच्यते ॥
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation arises when one drops attachment to moral self-labels (‘I am righteous’/‘I am unrighteous’), relinquishes the momentum of accumulated karma, becomes inwardly tranquil as cravings and bodily-mind constituents lose their grip, and abides beyond dualities. The emphasis is not on rejecting ethics, but on transcending egoic clinging and reactive opposites.
A Brahmin speaker delivers an instruction on the marks of the liberated person. In the Ashvamedhika Parva’s post-war reflective setting, such teachings commonly redirect attention from external rites and outcomes to inner renunciation, equanimity, and freedom from karmic bondage.