Shloka 21
मोक्षधर्मः — स्नेहपाशच्छेदः
Mokṣa-dharma: Cutting the Bonds of Attachment
विजानतां मोक्ष एष श्रम: स्यादविजानताम् । मोक्षयानमिदं कृत्स्नं विदुषां हारितो5ब्रवीत्
vijānātāṁ mokṣa eṣa śramaḥ syād avijānātām | mokṣayānam idaṁ kṛtsnaṁ viduṣāṁ hārito ’bravīt ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Sa mga tunay na nakauunawa, ang disiplina ring ito ang nagiging paglaya; sa mga hindi nakauunawa, nagiging pawang pagod lamang. Ipinahayag ng pantas na si Hārita na para sa marurunong, ang buong landas ng dharma na ito ay isang ‘sasakyang patungo sa moksha’—tagapagdala tungo sa kalayaan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The same religious discipline—especially renunciation grounded in insight—liberates the one who understands its purpose, but becomes mere exhausting ritual for one who lacks true knowledge. Wisdom transforms practice into moksha; ignorance reduces it to labor.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira and supports his point by citing the authority of the sage Hārita, who calls the complete dharmic path a ‘vehicle to moksha’ for the wise.