Shloka 45
Śānti-parva 168: Śoka-nivṛtti-buddhi (The Cognition that Reduces Grief) and Piṅgalā’s Nairāśya
भूतानि जातिस्मरणात्मकानि जराविकारैश्न समन्वितानि । भूयश्व तैस्तै: प्रतिबोधितानि मोक्ष प्रशंसन्ति न तं च विद्य:
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
bhūtāni jātismaraṇātmakāni jarāvikāraiś ca na samanvitāni |
bhūyaś ca tais tais pratibodhitāni mokṣaṃ praśaṃsanti na taṃ ca vidmaḥ ||
Wika ni Yudhiṣṭhira: May mga nilalang na nakaaalala ng kanilang mga dating kapanganakan at hindi dinadapuan ng mga pagbaluktot ng katandaan. Paulit-ulit silang ginising at tinuruan ng sari-saring karanasan, kaya’t ang pinupuri nila ay ang paglaya lamang. Ngunit kami’y hindi tunay na nakaaalam ng gayong paglaya.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Those who are spiritually awakened—described as remembering past births and being free from the impairments of old age—come to value liberation above worldly experience; Yudhiṣṭhira admits that ordinary people lack clear knowledge of mokṣa and thus need instruction.
In Śānti Parva’s discourse setting, Yudhiṣṭhira raises a reflective question about liberation: he contrasts rare, awakened beings who extol mokṣa with his own uncertainty, preparing the ground for further teaching on the nature and means of liberation.