Shloka 110
दुर्ग जन्म निधनं चापि राजन् न भौतिक ज्ञानविदो वदन्ति | यज्ैस्तपो भिनिययमैर््रतैश्व दिवं समासाद्य पतन्ति भूमौ
durgaṃ janma nidhanaṃ cāpi rājan na bhautikaṃ jñānavido vadanti | yajñais tapobhir niyamair vratais ca divaṃ samāsādya patanti bhūmau ||
毗湿摩说：“大王，通达智慧者宣说：有身之生与死，乃难以逾越之坚城。凭祭祀、苦行、戒律与誓愿，固可至天界；然福业既尽，仍复坠落人间。故此等仪轨之道，终不能使人彻底越出世间流转之险。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual merit (yajña, tapas, niyama, vrata) can lead to heaven, but it is not final liberation; when merit ends, one returns to earthly existence. True transcendence of birth and death requires wisdom that goes beyond merely accumulating punya.
In the Śānti Parva instruction, Bhīṣma continues advising King Yudhiṣṭhira on the limits of ritual action and the need for higher knowledge: heaven is temporary, while the problem of repeated birth and death remains unless one seeks a liberating insight.