Śuka–Janaka Saṃvāda: Āśrama-krama, Jñāna-vijñāna, and the Marks of Liberation (शुक-जनक संवादः)
बुद्धिरध्यात्ममित्याहुर्यथावदभिदर्शिन: । बोद्धव्यमधिभूतं तु क्षेत्रज्ञक्नाधिदिवतम्,यथार्थ ज्ञानी पुरुष कहते हैं कि बुद्धि अध्यात्म है, बोद्धव्य अधिभूत है और आत्मा अधिदेवता है
buddhir adhyātmam ity āhur yathāvad abhidarśinaḥ | boddhavyam adhibhūtaṃ tu kṣetrajñam adhidaivatam ||
قال ياجْنَفَلْكْيَا: «إنّ الرائين الذين يُبصرون الأشياء على حقيقتها يقرّرون أنّ العقل/البُدْهي (buddhi) من الأدهْيَاتْما (adhyātma)، أي من المجال الباطني. وأمّا ما ينبغي أن يُعرَف فهو الأدهِبْهُوتا (adhibhūta)، ميدان العناصر المتجسّدة. وأمّا “عارف الحقل” (Kṣetrajña) — الذات الشاهدة في الداخل — فيُفهَم أنّه الأدهِدَيْفَتا (adhidaivata)، المبدأ الإلهي الحاكم.»
याज़्वल्क्य उवाच
Experience can be understood through a threefold framework: buddhi (intellect) is the inner spiritual domain (adhyātma), the knowable objects belong to the material/embodied domain (adhibhūta), and the kṣetrajña—the witnessing Self—is the presiding divine principle (adhidaivata). This encourages discernment: do not confuse external objects with the inner witness, and recognize the governing consciousness behind cognition.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, the sage Yājñavalkya is expounding a philosophical classification to clarify how knowledge operates—distinguishing the inner instrument of knowing (buddhi), the external field of objects (adhibhūta), and the indwelling knower (kṣetrajña/adhidaivata).