Shloka 14
Varāha-avatāra: Viṣṇu’s subterranean intervention and the cosmic nāda (Śānti-parva 202)
यथात्मनो>ऊूुं पतितं पृथिव्यां स्वप्रान्तरे पश्यति चात्मनो<न्यत् | श्रोत्रादियुक्त: सुमना: सुबुद्धि- लिंज्ात्तथा गच्छति लिड्रमन्यत्
yathātmanaḥ patitaṃ pṛthivyāṃ svapnāntare paśyati cātmano 'nyat | śrotrādiyuktaḥ sumanāḥ subuddhir liṅgāt tathā gacchati liṅgam anyat ||
毗湿摩说：“正如人在梦中看见自己身体被截断的一肢落在地上，仿佛与自身分离；同样，心意清明、志向端正之人——具足以听觉等为首的诸根——应当了知：此身与自我（我、真我）本不相同。若不能如是知见，便会不断从一种有身之境迁入另一种有身之境。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches discernment between the self (ātman) and the body: the body can be seen as ‘other’ to the self, like a dream-image of one’s own limb lying apart. Without this discriminative knowledge, one remains bound to transmigration (moving from one embodiment to another).
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and liberation-oriented wisdom. Here he uses a dream analogy to explain how a disciplined, discerning person should regard the body as separate from the self, contrasting this with the ignorance that perpetuates rebirth.