Shloka 12
Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)
प्रलयं न विजानन्ति आत्मन: परिनिर्मितम् | ततस्तेनास्थिता मार्ग ध्रुवमक्षरमव्ययम्
pralayaṁ na vijānanti ātmanaḥ parinirmitaṁ | tataḥ tenāsthitā mārgaṁ dhruvam akṣaram avyayam ||
阇那美阇耶问道：“难道他们不明白由自我所造作的毁灭（pralaya，大劫坏灭）吗？因此便不归依由他所安立的道路——那坚定之道，不坏（akṣara）、不减（avyaya）之道吗？又此外，梵天、鲁陀罗、强大的因陀罗（诛灭婆罗/阿修罗者）、日神、苏摩——群星之主，风神、火神、水神、虚空、大地以及其余诸神：他们也都不知至上之我所造的解脱之道，以致不趋向那不动摇、无毁坏、永恒不灭的道路吗？”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames liberation as an imperishable, steady path grounded in the Supreme Self, and raises a philosophical problem: even exalted gods may be ignorant of (or fail to take refuge in) the true mokṣa-path, implying that status and power do not guarantee liberating knowledge.
Janamejaya, in dialogue within the Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and ultimate good, questions how cosmic dissolution and the Self-established path to liberation relate to the gods—asking whether even Brahmā, Rudra, Indra, and other deities fail to recognize and follow that eternal path.