मनु-उपदेशः — भूत-उत्पत्ति, इन्द्रिय-निवृत्ति, तथा पर-स्वभाव-विवेकः
Manu’s Instruction on Elemental Origination, Sense-Withdrawal, and Discrimination of the Supreme Nature
यथा वारिचर: पक्षी सलिलेन न लिप्यते । एवमेव कृतप्रज्ञो भूतेषु परिवर्तते,जैसे जलचर पक्षी जलसे लिप्त नहीं होता, उसी प्रकार विशुद्धबुद्धि ज्ञानी पुरुष निर्लिप्त रहकर ही सम्पूर्ण भूतोंमें विचरता है
yathā vāricaraḥ pakṣī salilena na lipyate | evam eva kṛtaprajño bhūteṣu parivartate ||
毗湿摩说道:正如栖于水中的鸟在水里往来,却不为水所沾染、所牵累;同样,智慧已成之人行于一切众生之间,内心无所执著——处世而行,而不为世所污。
भीष्म उवाच
True wisdom expresses itself as non-attachment: the wise person engages with the world and with all beings, yet remains inwardly untainted—free from clinging, egoistic ownership, and the stains of desire and aversion.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct after the war. Here he uses a vivid simile—like a water-bird untouched by water—to describe how a realized, steady-minded person lives and acts among beings without being bound by them.