Shloka 15
नारद–शुक संवादः (Nārada–Śuka Dialogue): Tyāga, Saṃyama, and Vyakta–Avyakta Viveka
मनस्तथैवाहंकारे प्रतिष्ठाप्प नराधिप । अहंकार तथा बुद्धौ बुद्धिं च प्रकृतावपि
manas tathaivāhaṅkāre pratiṣṭhāpya narādhipa | ahaṅkāras tathā buddhau buddhiṁ ca prakṛtāv api ||
Yājñavalkya sprach: «O König, indem man den Geist im Ich-Sinn (ahaṃkāra) gründet, den Ich-Sinn im Intellekt (buddhi) und den Intellekt wiederum in Prakṛti (der uranfänglichen Natur), führt man die inneren Vermögen auf ihren feineren Grund zurück. Dies ist die kontemplative Ordnung, durch die der Mensch erkennt, dass das Seelenleben von tieferen Prinzipien abhängt, und die Anhaftung an die wechselnden Regungen des Denkens lockert.»
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a hierarchical mapping of inner faculties—mind (manas) grounded in ego-sense (ahaṅkāra), ego-sense in intellect (buddhi), and intellect in Prakṛti—so that one sees these as conditioned processes rather than the true Self, aiding detachment and liberation-oriented discernment.
In a didactic dialogue within Śānti Parva, the sage Yājñavalkya instructs a king on contemplative analysis of the psyche, explaining how to ‘place’ each faculty into its subtler source as part of a philosophical teaching on the constituents of experience and the path to inner peace.