Shloka 52
Devaśarmā–Vipula Dialogue on Ahorātra–Ṛtu as Moral Witnesses (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय ४३)
निर्मुक्तस्य रजोरूपान्नापराधो भवेन्मम | यथा हि शून्यां पथिक: सभामध्यावसेत् पथि
nirmuktasya rajorūpān nāparādho bhaven mama | yathā hi śūnyāṃ pathikaḥ sabhāmadhyāvased pathi |
Bhishma said: “Since I am freed from the forms of rajas (passion and agitation), no fault can accrue to me. Just as a traveler on the road may, without attachment, rest in an empty lodging, so too—remaining vigilant—I shall enter and abide in the body of the teacher’s wife, in such a way that my presence there is possible.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Freedom from rajas (passionate agitation) is presented as a safeguard against ethical fault: when action is undertaken without desire, possessiveness, or self-serving impulse, it is less likely to generate culpability. The verse uses an analogy of a traveler resting briefly in an empty place to illustrate non-attachment and temporary, duty-bound presence.
Bhishma explains his intention to enter and reside in another’s body—specifically the guru’s wife—while claiming inner detachment and vigilance. He frames this extraordinary act as ethically non-culpable due to his freedom from rajas, likening it to a traveler taking temporary shelter without ownership or attachment.