Shloka 19
Vyaktāvyakta-Viveka and Nivṛtti as Paramā Gati
Manifest–Unmanifest Discrimination and the Supreme Path of Withdrawal
युगान्ते5न्तर्हितान् वेदान् सेतिहासान् महर्षय: । लेभिरे तपसा पूर्वमनुज्ञाता: स्वयम्भुवा,कल्पके अन्तमें लुप्त हुए वेदों और इतिहासोंको कल्पके आरम्भमें स्वयम्भू ब्रह्माके आदेशसे महर्षियोंने तपस्याद्वारा सबसे पहले उपलब्ध किया था
Bhīṣma uvāca | yugānte 'ntarhitān vedān setihāsān maharṣayaḥ | lebhire tapasā pūrvam anujñātāḥ svayambhuvā ||
युगान्तेऽन्तर्हितान् वेदान् सेतिहासान् महर्षयः । लेभिरे तपसा पूर्वमनुज्ञाताः स्वयम्भुवा ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sacred knowledge can become obscured during cosmic decline, but it is restored through tapas (disciplined spiritual effort) when aligned with rightful authority (here, Svayambhū). This frames preservation of dharma as both a divine trust and a human responsibility carried by seers.
Bhīṣma explains a cosmological tradition: at the end of a yuga the Vedas and Itihāsas become hidden, and at the start of the next cycle the maharṣis, authorized by the Self-born Creator, recover them through austerity—re-establishing the foundations for dharma and teaching.