Shanti Parva Adhyaya 203 Shloka 7 - Mahabharata | German | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 7

Yoga, Nārāyaṇa as Supreme Principle, and the Emanation of Categories

Sāṅkhya-Yoga Outline

Devanagari script

तद्वद्‌ भूतेषु भूतात्मा सूक्ष्मो ज्ञानात्मवानसौ । अदृष्टपूर्वश्चक्षुभ्भ्या न चासौ नास्ति तावता

Transliteration

tadvat bhūteṣu bhūtātmā sūkṣmo jñānātmavān asau | adṛṣṭapūrvaś cakṣurbhyā na cāsau nāsti tāvatā ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Ebenso wohnt in allen Wesen das innere Selbst der Wesen — subtil, aus Erkenntnis bestehend. Auch wenn es niemals mit den Augen gesehen wurde, darf man daraus allein nicht schließen, das Selbst existiere nicht.“

Word by Word

तद्वत्likewise, in the same way

भूतेषुin (all) beings

भूतात्माthe inner self of beings

सूक्ष्मःsubtle

ज्ञानात्मवान्whose nature is knowledge / possessed of knowledge-self

असौthat (one), he

अदृष्टपूर्वःnever seen before (i.e., not seen at all)

चक्षुषाby the eye, with the eye

नnot

चand

असौthat (self)

नnot

अस्तिexists / is

तावताmerely by that much, on that account alone

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Ātman (Self)

Bhūta (beings/creatures)

Cakṣus (eyes)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Non-perception by the senses is not proof of non-existence: the ātman is subtle and knowledge-natured, present within all beings even though it is not visible to the eyes.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and higher truth, Bhīṣma explains to the listener that the indwelling Self cannot be dismissed merely because it is not directly seen, emphasizing a distinction between sensory evidence and deeper reality.