Shloka 37
Devaśarmā–Vipula Dialogue on Ahorātra–Ṛtu as Moral Witnesses (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय ४३)
अपि विश्वकृता तात येन सृष्टमिदं जगत् । पुनरन्तर्हित: शक्रो दृश्यते ज्ञानचक्षुषा
api viśvakṛtā tāta yena sṛṣṭam idaṁ jagat | punar antarhitaḥ śakro dṛśyate jñānacakṣuṣā ||
Bhīṣma said: “O dear one, even for the Creator by whom this entire world was brought forth, Indra—after making himself invisible—can be perceived only by the eye of knowledge. When he withdraws from sight, he is not grasped by ordinary means; he becomes knowable only through insight.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That certain realities—especially divine or subtle ones—are not accessible to ordinary sensory perception; they are apprehended through jñāna (inner knowledge/insight). The verse contrasts external seeing with ‘jñānacakṣus’, implying an ethical-spiritual discipline of discernment.
Bhīṣma is explaining to his listener that Indra (Śakra), when he becomes antarhita (invisible), cannot be detected by normal means; he is perceived only through the ‘eye of knowledge’. The statement underscores Indra’s power of concealment and the limits of ordinary grasp.