Shloka 177
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
स गार्हस्थ्याच्च्युतश्न त्वं मोक्ष चानाप्य दुर्विदम् । उभयोरन्तराले वै वर्तसे मोक्षवार्तिक:
sa gārhasthyāccyutaś ca tvaṃ mokṣaṃ cānāpya durvidam | ubhayor antarāle vai vartase mokṣavārtikaḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：你已从居家者之道坠落，却仍未证得那难以体悟的解脱。故而你立于两者之间——口谈解脱，却既不安住于世间本分，也未立于真实的出离。
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma criticizes a liminal, inconsistent stance: abandoning the responsibilities of the householder’s dharma without attaining genuine liberation. Ethical life requires integrity—either fulfill one’s rightful duties with discipline, or pursue renunciation in a way that truly leads toward realization, not merely talk about it.
In the instruction-heavy Shānti Parva, Bhīṣma addresses a listener’s conduct and spiritual claims. He points out that the person has left the gārhasthya way of life but has not reached mokṣa, and therefore remains suspended between worldly duty and true renunciation—functioning mainly as a ‘speaker of mokṣa’ rather than a practitioner established in a path.