Shloka 12
Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)
प्रलयं न विजानन्ति आत्मन: परिनिर्मितम् | ततस्तेनास्थिता मार्ग ध्रुवमक्षरमव्ययम्
pralayaṁ na vijānanti ātmanaḥ parinirmitaṁ | tataḥ tenāsthitā mārgaṁ dhruvam akṣaram avyayam ||
Tinanong ni Janamejaya: “Hindi ba nila nauunawaan ang pagkalusaw (pralaya) na hinubog ng Sarili? Kaya ba hindi sila sumisilong sa landas na itinatag Niya—ang landas na matatag, di-nasisira (akṣara), at di-naluluma (avyaya)? At bukod dito, sina Brahmā, Rudra, ang makapangyarihang Indra (pumatay kay Bala/Asura), ang Araw, si Soma na panginoon ng mga bituin, sina Vāyu, Agni, Varuṇa, ang Ākāśa, ang Daigdig, at ang natitirang mga diyos—hindi rin ba nila nalalaman ang landas ng paglaya na nilikha ng Kataas-taasang Sarili, kaya hindi sila dumudulog sa daang di-nagagalaw, di-nawawasak, at walang hanggan?”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames liberation as an imperishable, steady path grounded in the Supreme Self, and raises a philosophical problem: even exalted gods may be ignorant of (or fail to take refuge in) the true mokṣa-path, implying that status and power do not guarantee liberating knowledge.
Janamejaya, in dialogue within the Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and ultimate good, questions how cosmic dissolution and the Self-established path to liberation relate to the gods—asking whether even Brahmā, Rudra, Indra, and other deities fail to recognize and follow that eternal path.