Shloka 30
Śrī–Indra–Bali Saṃvāda: The Departure and Fourfold Placement of Lakṣmī
प्रेतीभूते5त्ययश्वैव देवताद्युपपाचनम् । मृते कर्मनिवृत्तिश्न प्रमाणमिति निश्चय:
pretībhūte ’tyayaś caiva devatādy-upapācanam | mṛte karma-nivṛttiś ca pramāṇam iti niścayaḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“死后之迁转，以及祭祀安抚诸天神祇等种种行持，又如人死之后业行止息——这些都是决定性的证据。由死尸之中不见觉知，可推知有一有知之我（我体、灵我）异于形躯；若觉知仅是身体之属性，则身体在死后尚存一段时日时，觉知亦应仍在。又即便是否认不可见者的人，也常以真言、持诵与仪轨之法，祈请神力以禳病却祸——这便在无形中承认了超越粗质之实在。若又主张我随身而灭，则亦当承认所作诸业尽皆毁灭，无有受者可受善恶之果，遂不得不落入不可接受之结论：众生竟受未曾造作之业报。故知身外别有有知之我，其存在已得确立。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma argues that consciousness is not identical with the body: the absence of consciousness in a dead body, the widespread reliance on deity-propitiation even among skeptics, and the need for an experiencer of karmic results together support the existence of an embodied yet body-distinct conscious self (ātman).
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhīṣma continues his philosophical teaching, addressing and refuting materialist (nāstika) views by offering reasoning from experience (death and loss of consciousness), social practice (ritual propitiation), and moral causality (karma and its fruits).