Shloka 21
Doṣa-Parīkṣā and Guṇa-Viveka
Examination of Faults and Discernment of the Guṇas
नैर्गुण्याद् ब्रह्म चाप्रोति सगुणत्वान्निवर्तते । गुणप्रचारिणी बुद्धिहुताशन इवेन्धने
Bhīṣma uvāca: nairguṇyād brahma cāpnoti saguṇatvān nivartate | guṇapracāriṇī buddhir hutāśana ivendhane ||
毗湿摩说：“当理智（buddhi）离诸德（guṇa）而成无德（nirguṇa）时，便证得梵；若仍为有德之相所系——缠于诸德之戏——则必退转，不能至梵。譬如火在枯薪中游行，理智亦在声、触等诸境之德中驰骋。及其舍离与彼诸德之系属，便成无德而达于梵；若仍执著，则复归，仍系于德之界域。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The intellect reaches Brahman only by becoming nirguṇa—disengaged from the guṇas and sense-objects. If it remains saguṇa, absorbed in sensory qualities (sound, touch, etc.), it cannot stabilize in the Absolute and therefore 'returns' to conditioned experience.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on liberation, Bhishma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on inner discipline. Here he uses a vivid metaphor—fire moving through dry wood—to explain how the intellect naturally ranges among sense-qualities, and how liberation requires severing that association.