Shloka 13

Dharma-Pramāṇa-Vicāra: The Elusiveness of Dharma and the Limits of Rule-Lists

Devanagari script

योगशास्त्रपरा भूत्वा तमात्मानं परीप्सव: | अनुच्छवासान्यमूर्तानि यानि वज्रोपमान्यपि,जड स्थूल शरीर, अमूर्त सूक्ष्म शरीर तथा वज्तुल्य सुदृढ़ कारण शरीर--ये जो तीन प्रकारके शरीर हैं, इन्हें आत्माको प्राप्त करनेकी इच्छावाले योगीजन योगशास्त्रपरायण होकर लाँघ जाते हैं

Transliteration

vyāsa uvāca | yogaśāstraparā bhūtvā tam ātmānaṃ parīpsavaḥ | anucchvāsāny amūrtāni yāni vajropamāny api ||

Translation

Vyāsa sprach: Wer jenes Selbst zu verwirklichen sucht und sich ganz der Lehre des Yoga hingibt, übersteigt sogar jene feinen, gestaltlosen Zustände — fest und unerschütterlich wie ein Vajra — durch die das verkörperte Dasein gewöhnlich getragen wird.

Word by Word

योगशास्त्रपराdevoted to the Yoga-śāstra

भूत्वाhaving become

तम्that (him/it)

आत्मानम्the Self

परीप्सवःdesiring to attain

अनुच्छवासान्inhalations/breathings (subtle breaths)

अमूर्तानिformless, non-material

यानिwhich

वज्रोपमानिlike a thunderbolt/adamantine

अपिeven, also

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Ātman (Self)

Yogaśāstra

Vajra

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The core teaching is that sincere seekers, grounded in the discipline of Yoga, aim at direct realization of the Self and thereby transcend even the subtlest life-supporting conditions of embodied existence—states described as formless and extremely firm (vajra-like).

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa is instructing about the yogic path within the Śānti Parva’s liberation-oriented discourse, describing how yogins intent on the Self go beyond progressively subtler supports of embodiment, emphasizing inner mastery rather than external action.