Shloka 27
बलीन्द्रसंवादः — Kāla, Anityatā, and the Limits of Agency
Mahābhārata 12.217
अन्तकाले हुपासन्ते तपसा दग्धकिल्विषा: । सर्व एते महात्मानो गच्छन्ति परमां गतिम्
antakāle hy upāsante tapasā dagdha-kilbiṣāḥ | sarva ete mahātmāno gacchanti paramāṁ gatim ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Vào giờ phút cuối, những ai đã thiêu đốt tội lỗi bằng khổ hạnh thì chuyên tâm hướng về Đấng Tối thượng. Tất cả những bậc đại hồn ấy đều đạt đến cảnh giới tối thượng.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Purification through tapas (disciplined austerity) removes moral impurities, enabling focused upāsanā at life’s end; such purified seekers attain the highest spiritual goal (paramā gati), understood as Brahman-realization or liberation.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction during the Śānti Parva, he describes the fate of spiritually disciplined people: those who have burned away sins through austerity and turn their contemplation toward the Supreme at the final moment reach the supreme destination.