Shloka 16
Yoga, Nārāyaṇa as Supreme Principle, and the Emanation of Categories
Sāṅkhya-Yoga Outline
क्षीणकोशो ह्ुमावास्यां चन्द्रमा न प्रकाशते । तद्वन्मूर्तिविमुक्तोड्सौ शरीरी नोपलभ्यते
bhīṣma uvāca | kṣīṇakośo hy amāvāsyāṃ candramā na prakāśate | tadvan mūrtivimukto 'sau śarīrī nopalabhyate ||
毗湿摩说：正如新月之夜，月轮光辉减退、光明不显，故月不放光；同样，具身之我一旦与身体分离，便不为寻常感知所及。此教诲昭示：所谓“人”并不止于诸根所能攫取之物；当身之依止已失，自我并非目所可见之境，因此不可将不可见误作不存在。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the Self is not an object of sensory perception. When the Self is separated from the body, it is not seen—just as the moon’s light is not manifest on the new-moon night—so absence from sight should not be confused with non-existence.
In the Shanti Parva instruction, Bhishma is explaining metaphysical and ethical understanding about the embodied being and death. He uses the familiar image of the moon at amavasya to clarify why the departed Self is not perceptible to ordinary observers.