Shloka 8
Adhyāya 353 — Kathā-prāmāṇya (Authority of Transmission) and the Brāhmaṇa’s Ascetic Resolve
चिन्तयामि गति चास्य न गतिं वेझि चोत्तराम् । यथाज्ञानं तु वक्ष्यामि पुरुषं तु सनातनम्
cintayāmi gatiṃ cāsya na gatiṃ vetsi cottarām | yathājñānaṃ tu vakṣyāmi puruṣaṃ tu sanātanam ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Pinagninilayan ko ang landas ng nilalang na ito—ngunit kahit ako’y hindi ganap na nakaaabot sa kataas-taasang hantungan. Gayunman, ayon sa abot ng aking pagkaunawa, ilalarawan ko ang Walang-hanggang Persona. Sapagkat sa mga may katawan, wala ni isa ang tunay na nakaaalam kung paano sila pumapasok sa mga katawan at lumalabas mula rito; kaya’t pinagninilayan ko ang paggalaw na iyon sa pamamagitan ng Sāṅkhya at Yoga, at nagsasalita ayon sa pinahihintulutan ng pananaw.”
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even great sages acknowledge limits in knowing the ‘supreme gati’ (ultimate destiny) of embodied beings; nevertheless, through Sāṅkhya (discernment) and Yoga (discipline), one can meaningfully speak about the Sanātana Puruṣa—the eternal conscious principle beyond bodily coming and going.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma addresses a metaphysical question about how beings take birth and depart. He admits that the highest truth is difficult to grasp fully, then proceeds to teach what he understands about the Eternal Person using the frameworks of Sāṅkhya and Yoga.