Shloka 10
मनस्–बुद्धि–गुणविचारः (Manas–Buddhi–Guṇa Inquiry) — Meditation and Nirguṇa Realization
आत्मकेवलतां प्राप्तस्तत्र गत्वा न शोचति । ईदृशं परमं स्थान निरयास्ते च तादृशा:
ātmakevalatāṃ prāptas tatra gatvā na śocati | īdṛśaṃ paramaṃ sthānaṃ nirayās te ca tādṛśāḥ ||
भीष्म उवाच—आत्मकेवलतां प्राप्तः तत्र गत्वा न शोचति। ईदृशं परमं स्थानम्; तस्य तुल्येऽपि ये लोका नानासुखसमृद्धा पूर्वं प्रोक्ताः, ते सर्वे तस्यापेक्षया निरयप्रायाः।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True freedom from grief arises only upon attaining ātma-kaivalya—abidance in the Self as the highest reality. Compared to that supreme state, even pleasure-filled heavenly experiences are inferior and are rhetorically likened to hell because they remain within change, dependence, and eventual loss.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhishma continues teaching about the highest goal. He contrasts the sorrowless peace of the supreme state with the limited nature of pleasure-based worlds, emphasizing the superiority of liberation over enjoyment.