Shloka 23
Adhyāya 249 — Mṛtyu-prādurbhāvaḥ (The Manifestation of Death) / Restraint of Tejas and Ordered Saṃhāra
नैतज्ज्ञात्वा पुमान् स्त्री वा पुनर्भवमवाप्तुते । अभवप्रतिपत्त्यर्थमेतद् धर्म विधीयते
vyāsa uvāca | na etaj jñātvā pumān strī vā punarbhavam avāptute | abhava-pratipatti-artham etad dharma vidhīyate |
Sinabi ni Vyāsa: Maging lalaki man o babae, ang sinumang tunay na nakakakilala sa (Brahman) na ito ay hindi na muling aabot sa muling pagsilang. Ang disiplina na tinatawag na dharma ay itinakda mismo upang matamo ang kalagayang hindi na muling nagiging—kalayaan mula sa patuloy na pag-iral sa daigdig.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Brahman-realization (true knowledge of the ultimate reality) ends punarbhava—one no longer returns to repeated birth. The dharma being taught here is framed as a means to attain 'abhava', the cessation of further becoming, i.e., liberation.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on liberation-oriented dharma, Vyāsa states a universal eligibility point (man or woman) and clarifies the purpose of the teaching: it is prescribed not merely for social order but to lead the seeker to freedom from rebirth through Brahman-knowledge.