Shloka 6
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
राक्षसान् विषयान ज्ञात्वा यक्षाणां विषयांस्तथा | विषयानौरगान ज्ञात्वा गान्धर्वविषयांस्तथा
bhīṣma uvāca | rākṣasān viṣayān jñātvā yakṣāṇāṁ viṣayāṁs tathā | viṣayān auragān jñātvā gāndharva-viṣayāṁs tathā ||
भीष्म उवाच—नरेश्वर! राक्षसानां विषयान् सम्यग् ज्ञात्वा यक्षाणां विषयान् तथा। नागानां विषयान् ज्ञात्वा गान्धर्वविषयांस्तथा॥ एवं विषयाणां बलाबल-दोषगुणान् विविच्य वैराग्यं जनयति, इन्द्रियविषयेषु आसक्तिं जहाति, मोक्षमार्गे च बुद्धिं नियोजयति।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
To cultivate discernment (viveka) by understanding the nature of sense-objects (viṣaya) across different orders of beings; seeing their limitations and defects supports detachment and steadiness on the liberating path (Sāṅkhya/Yoga).
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king in higher dharma and liberation-oriented wisdom. Here he begins/continues a catalog of various beings’ ‘spheres of enjoyment,’ using it to frame a teaching on evaluating desire and moving toward mokṣa.