Shloka 8
Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)
मोक्षश्नोक्तस्त्वया ब्रह्मन् निर्वाणं परमं सुखम् । ये तु मुक्ता भवन्तीह पुण्यपापविवर्जिता:
mokṣaś ca uktaḥ tvayā brahman nirvāṇaṁ paramaṁ sukham | ye tu muktā bhavantīha puṇyapāpa-vivarjitāḥ ||
جنمیجیہ نے کہا: “اے برہمن! آپ نے مجھے موکش—نروان، جو سب سے اعلیٰ سعادت ہے—سمجھایا۔ مگر جو لوگ یہاں پُنّیہ اور پاپ دونوں سے پاک ہو کر مکتی پاتے ہیں، ان کی حالت کیا ہوتی ہے؟”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation (mokṣa) is presented as nirvāṇa—the supreme happiness—and it is characterized by transcendence of karmic dualities: the liberated are described as beyond both merit (puṇya) and sin (pāpa), pointing to a state where action’s binding results no longer apply.
Janamejaya, having heard the sage’s account of mokṣa as the highest bliss, presses further with a clarifying question: he asks about the nature or status of those who attain liberation in this very context—specifically those said to be free from both puṇya and pāpa.