Shloka 83
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
प्रवृत्तिलक्षणं धर्म पश्यामि परमं नूप । मग्नस्य हि परे ज्ञाने कि नु दुःखतरं भवेत्
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: Pravṛtti-lakṣaṇaṁ dharmaṁ paśyāmi paramaṁ nūpa; magnasya hi pare jñāne kiṁ nu duḥkhataraṁ bhavet?
प्रवृत्तिलक्षणं धर्मं पश्यामि परमं नृप। मग्नस्य हि परे ज्ञाने किं नु दुःखतरं भवेत्॥
युधिषछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Yudhiṣṭhira voices an ethical concern about liberation conceived as absorption in supreme knowledge: if such absorption entails loss of distinct cognition (and, by implication, meaningful awareness), then action-oriented dharma (pravṛtti)—with its responsibilities and intelligible moral life—appears preferable.
In the Śānti Parva’s discussions on dharma and mokṣa, Yudhiṣṭhira questions the value of a liberation-state described as being ‘immersed in supreme knowledge.’ He argues that if, in that state, differentiated knowing is absent, it seems like a profound deprivation, prompting him to praise pravṛtti-dharma as the higher path.