Shloka 11
Adhyāya 302: Guṇa-vicāra, Gati-bheda, and the Imperishable State
Yājñavalkya–Janaka
भगवन् श्रोतुमिच्छामि परं ब्रह्म सनातनम् । यस्मान्न पुनरावृत्तिमाप्रुवन्ति मनीषिण:
bhagavan śrotum icchāmi paraṁ brahma sanātanam | yasmān na punarāvṛttim āpnuvanti manīṣiṇaḥ ||
“Bạch bậc tôn kính, con muốn được nghe về Brahman tối thượng, vĩnh cửu—Đấng mà từ đó những người trí không còn trở lại vòng hiện hữu thế gian nữa.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames liberation (mokṣa) as attaining the supreme, eternal Brahman—an attainment described as ‘non-return’ (no re-entry into saṁsāra). It signals that true wisdom culminates in realizing/attaining that ultimate reality beyond cyclical rebirth.
Bhishma, in an instructive discourse of the Śānti Parva, addresses a revered interlocutor (teacher) and requests a description of the supreme Brahman—specifically the state or reality reaching which the wise do not come back to worldly life.