Shloka 82
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
मोक्षे दोषो महानेष प्राप्य सिद्धि गतानृषीन् | यदि तत्रैव विज्ञाने वर्तन्ते यतय: परे
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | mokṣe doṣo mahān eṣa prāpya siddhiṃ gatān ṛṣīn | yadi tatraiva vijñāne vartante yatayaḥ pare ||
玉提施提罗说：“在解脱（mokṣa）之中，我见到一个关于已臻圆满的圣贤的重大难题。若即便在彼处，至上的苦行者仍在种种分别之知中行止——若其觉知仍保有特定性与记忆——那么我将判定以入世正行之法（pravṛtti-dharma）更为殊胜。可若说在解脱之境并无任何分别之知的体验，那么沉没于至上之知时便将失却具体的觉知；还有什么悲苦能大过此呢？”
युधिषछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Yudhiṣṭhira raises a philosophical dilemma about liberation: either liberated sages retain distinct cognition (which seems to preserve individuality and thus looks like an imperfection), or they lose distinct cognition (which seems like a bleak loss of meaningful awareness). The verse frames the tension between engagement in righteous action (pravṛtti-dharma) and the ideal of transcendence (mokṣa).
In the Śānti Parva’s reflective teachings, Yudhiṣṭhira questions the nature of mokṣa and the experience of perfected sages. He challenges the coherence and desirability of liberation as described, pressing for clarity on whether liberated consciousness includes memory and differentiated knowledge or dissolves such distinctions entirely.