Shloka 333
Śreyas-nirdeśa (Discerning the Superior Good): Nārada–Gālava Saṃvāda
आत्मयज्ञो भविष्यामि न मां तारयति प्रजा । पिताजी! मैं आत्मासे अपने आपमें ही उत्पन्न हुआ हूँ। अपने आपमें ही स्थित हूँ। मेरे कोई संतान नहीं है। मैं आत्मयज्ञका ही यजमान होऊँगा। मुझे संतान नहीं तार सकती है
ātmayajño bhaviṣyāmi na māṃ tārayati prajā |
Bhīṣma nói: “Ta sẽ là chủ tế trong tế lễ của Tự Ngã (Ātma-yajña); con cháu không thể cứu độ ta. Thưa phụ thân! Ta sinh từ Tự Ngã, an trụ trong Tự Ngã, và không có con. Vì thế ta chỉ là người chủ tế của Ātma-yajña; con cháu không thể đưa ta qua bờ giải thoát.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation is not guaranteed by external supports such as progeny or social continuity; one must undertake an inner discipline—‘ātma-yajña’—grounded in self-knowledge and renunciation, making the Self both the altar and the offering.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhīṣma emphasizes to his listener that he will rely on an inward, self-centered spiritual practice rather than on having children or lineage as a means of deliverance.