Shloka 47
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
संहारविक्षेपमनिष्टमेक॑ चत्वारि चान्यानि वसत्यनीश: । षष्ठस्य वर्णस्य परा गतिर्या सिद्धावसिद्धस्य गतक्लमस्य
saṁhāra-vikṣepam aniṣṭam ekaṁ catvāri cānyāni vasaty anīśaḥ | ṣaṣṭhasya varṇasya parā gatir yā siddhāvasiddhasya gata-klamasya ||
भीष्म उवाच— संहारविक्षेपमनिष्टमेकं चत्वारि चान्यानि वसत्यनीशः । षष्ठस्य वर्णस्य परा गतिर्या सिद्धावसिद्धस्य गतक्लमस्य ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Merit and yogic power can elevate one to exalted realms, but attachment to the enjoyment of yogic ‘siddhis’ obstructs final release. Liberation requires dispassion: without relinquishing subtle craving, one is carried by karmic momentum into prolonged heavenly residence before attaining the supreme goal.
In Bhishma’s instruction on liberation in the Shanti Parva, he explains the post-mortem trajectory of a yogin who has gained purity and power yet cannot renounce the taste for yogic enjoyments. Such a practitioner, though spiritually advanced, is compelled to dwell successively in higher worlds for a kalpa, and only afterward reaches the final liberation associated with the highest class of aspirants.