Shloka 55

श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः

Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma

Devanagari script

शुद्धां गतिं तां परमां परैति शुद्धेन नित्यं मनसा विचिन्वन्‌ । ततोडव्ययं स्थानमुपैति ब्रह्म दुष्प्रापमभ्येति स शाश्वतं वै

Transliteration

śuddhāṃ gatiṃ tāṃ paramāṃ paraiti śuddhena nityaṃ manasā vicinvan | tato 'vyayaṃ sthānam upaiti brahma duṣprāpam abhyeti sa śāśvataṃ vai ||

Translation

स शुद्धेन नित्यं मनसा तां शुद्धां परमां गतिं विचिन्वन् अवश्यं प्राप्नोति। ततः स दुष्प्रापमव्ययं शाश्वतं ब्रह्मपदं प्राप्य तत्रैव प्रतिष्ठते।

Word by Word

• {'śuddhām': 'pure, stainless (accusative singular feminine)', 'gatim': 'goal, course, state of attainment', 'paramām': 'supreme, highest', 'paraiti': 'attains, reaches', 'śuddhena ... manasā': 'with a purified mind', 'nityam': 'always, continually', 'vicinvan': 'reflecting on, investigating, contemplating', 'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'avyayam': 'imperishable, unchanging', 'sthānam': 'abode, station, state', 'upaiti': 'approaches, reaches', 'brahma': 'Brahman

• the absolute reality', 'duṣprāpam': 'hard to attain', 'abhyeti': 'comes to, attains', 'śāśvatam': 'eternal, everlasting', 'vai': 'indeed, truly (emphatic particle)'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Brahman

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Steady contemplation with a consistently purified mind leads to the highest attainment: realization of the supreme goal and establishment in the imperishable, eternal Brahman.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s instruction during the Shanti Parva, he describes the inner discipline and result of spiritual pursuit: the seeker who maintains mental purity and reflects on the supreme path ultimately reaches Brahman, the eternal and unchanging state.