Shloka 313
Adhyāya 42 — Mahābhūta–Indriya–Adhyātma-Vyavasthā
Brahmā’s Instruction on Elements and Faculties
अधिकभूतं तु मन्तव्यं ब्रह्मा तत्राधिदेवतम् । पाँच इन्द्रियों और छठे मनको जाननेवाली बुद्धिको अध्यात्म कहते हैं। मन्तव्य उसका अधिभूत और ब्रह्मा उसके अधिदेवता हैं
adhikabhūtaṃ tu mantavyaṃ brahmā tatrādhidevatam | pañcendriyāṇi ca ṣaṣṭhaṃ manaś ca jānātī yā buddhiḥ sā adhyātmaṃ ucyate | mantavyaṃ tasyādhibhūtaṃ brahmā tasyā adhidevatā ||
Vāyu said: “Know that the ‘object to be thought upon’ belongs to adhibhūta, the realm of embodied elements and objects, and that Brahmā is its presiding adhidevatā. The discerning intellect (buddhi) that comprehends the five senses and the mind as the sixth is called adhyātma, the inner spiritual principle. For that inner principle, the ‘thinkable object’ is its adhibhūta aspect, and Brahmā stands as its adhidevatā.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse maps inner experience to a threefold framework: adhyātma (the inner principle, here identified with the intellect that understands the senses and mind), adhibhūta (the realm of objects—what is to be contemplated), and adhidevatā (the presiding divine principle), naming Brahmā as the adhidevatā in this context. The ethical implication is disciplined discernment: know the faculties, know their objects, and recognize the governing order behind them.
Vāyudeva is instructing the listener in a doctrinal classification used in Mahābhārata’s spiritual discourse—distinguishing the inner self-domain (adhyātma), the objective/elemental domain (adhibhūta), and the divine presiding domain (adhidevatā)—to guide correct contemplation and understanding.