Shloka 12
Adhyāya 302: Guṇa-vicāra, Gati-bheda, and the Imperishable State
Yājñavalkya–Janaka
यच्च तत् क्षरमित्युक्तं यत्रेदं क्षरते जगत् | यच्चाक्षरमिति प्रोक्तं शिवं क्षेम्यममनामयम्
yac ca tat kṣaram ity uktaṃ yatrendaṃ kṣarate jagat | yac cākṣaram iti proktaṃ śivaṃ kṣemyam amanāmayam ||
“Nais ko ring maunawaan yaong tinatawag na ‘napaparam’—kung saan ang buong daigdig na ito’y naluluma at nalulusaw. At hinahangad ko rin ang kaalaman tungkol sa ‘di-napaparam’: ang di-nagbabagong saligan, mapalad na anyong Śiva, pinagmumulan ng kapakanan, at malaya sa lahat ng pagdurusa.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a fundamental inquiry: to distinguish the perishable principle (kṣara), in which the world undergoes change and dissolution, from the imperishable principle (akṣara), described as unchanging, auspicious, welfare-giving, and free from affliction—pointing toward the highest metaphysical ground sought for liberation.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and higher knowledge, Bhīṣma articulates a seeker’s question: he wants clear understanding of both the changing cosmos that dissolves and the imperishable, beneficent reality that stands as its stable basis.