Shloka 12
Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)
प्रलयं न विजानन्ति आत्मन: परिनिर्मितम् | ततस्तेनास्थिता मार्ग ध्रुवमक्षरमव्ययम्
pralayaṁ na vijānanti ātmanaḥ parinirmitaṁ | tataḥ tenāsthitā mārgaṁ dhruvam akṣaram avyayam ||
प्रलयं न विजानन्ति आत्मनः परिनिर्मितम्। ततस्तेनास्थितं मार्गं ध्रुवमक्षरमव्ययम्॥
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames liberation as an imperishable, steady path grounded in the Supreme Self, and raises a philosophical problem: even exalted gods may be ignorant of (or fail to take refuge in) the true mokṣa-path, implying that status and power do not guarantee liberating knowledge.
Janamejaya, in dialogue within the Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and ultimate good, questions how cosmic dissolution and the Self-established path to liberation relate to the gods—asking whether even Brahmā, Rudra, Indra, and other deities fail to recognize and follow that eternal path.