Shloka 16
Yoga, Nārāyaṇa as Supreme Principle, and the Emanation of Categories
Sāṅkhya-Yoga Outline
क्षीणकोशो ह्ुमावास्यां चन्द्रमा न प्रकाशते । तद्वन्मूर्तिविमुक्तोड्सौ शरीरी नोपलभ्यते
bhīṣma uvāca | kṣīṇakośo hy amāvāsyāṃ candramā na prakāśate | tadvan mūrtivimukto 'sau śarīrī nopalabhyate ||
অমাৱস্যাত চন্দ্ৰৰ পোহৰৰ আৱৰণ ক্ষীণ হোৱাৰ বাবে সি দীপ্ত নহয়; তেনেকৈ দেহ-ৰূপ মূৰ্তিৰ পৰা বিমুক্ত দেহধাৰী আত্মা ইন্দ্ৰিয়গোচৰ নহয়।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the Self is not an object of sensory perception. When the Self is separated from the body, it is not seen—just as the moon’s light is not manifest on the new-moon night—so absence from sight should not be confused with non-existence.
In the Shanti Parva instruction, Bhishma is explaining metaphysical and ethical understanding about the embodied being and death. He uses the familiar image of the moon at amavasya to clarify why the departed Self is not perceptible to ordinary observers.