Shloka 76
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
नभो वहति लोकेश रजस: परमां गतिम् । रजो वहति राजेन्द्र सत्त्वस्य परमां गतिम्
nabho vahati lokeśa rajasaḥ paramāṃ gatim | rajo vahati rājendra sattvasya paramāṃ gatim ||
హే లోకేశ్వరా! ఆకాశాధిపతి దేవుడు యోగిని రజోగుణ పరమగతివరకు మోసుకుపోతాడు; హే రాజేంద్రా! ఆ రజోగుణమే అతనిని సత్త్వగుణ పరమగతివరకు చేర్చుతుంది.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation is portrayed as a stepwise ascent: the yogin is carried from one level of subtle existence to a higher one as the inner constitution becomes refined—moving from rajas (agitation) toward sattva (clarity), culminating in the supreme goal.
In Bhishma’s instruction to the king in the Shanti Parva, he describes how cosmic principles/deities ‘carry’ the yogin onward after death: the presiding power of space conveys him to the highest rajas, and rajas conveys him to the highest sattva—an image of progressive spiritual transit.