Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 15
अव्यक्त-मानस-सृष्टिवादः
Doctrine of Creation from the Unmanifest ‘Mānasa’
यह शरीर भी मेरा नहीं अथवा सारी पृथ्वी भी मेरी नहीं है। ये सब वस्तुएँ जैसी मेरी हैं, वैसी ही दूसरोंकी भी हैं। ऐसा सोचकर इनके लिये मेरे मनमें कोई व्यथा नहीं होती। इसी बुद्धिको पाकर न मुझे हर्ष होता है, न शोक ।।
yaḥ śarīro 'pi me naiva athavā sarvā pṛthivī 'pi me naiva | etāni sarvāṇi vastūni yathā mama tathāpareṣām api | iti matvā na me teṣu manaḥkhedo bhavati | etāṃ buddhiṃ prāpya na me harṣo na śoko bhavati || yathā kāṣṭhaṃ ca kāṣṭhaṃ ca sameyātāṃ mahodadhau | sametya ca vyapeyātāṃ tadvad bhūta-samāgamaḥ ||
“This body is not truly mine; nor is the whole earth mine. All these things belong to others just as they seem to belong to me. Thinking thus, my mind feels no anguish over them. Having attained this understanding, I am not elated, nor do I grieve. Just as two pieces of wood, carried along in the great ocean, sometimes meet and, after meeting, drift apart again—so too in this world is the coming-together of living beings.”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches non-attachment and equanimity: neither the body nor possessions are truly ‘mine’; recognizing shared, impermanent ownership dissolves distress, and one remains free from both elation and grief.
A Brahmin speaker explains a contemplative insight to illustrate why he does not suffer over loss or change, using the image of two logs meeting and separating in the ocean to describe the temporary nature of human relationships and worldly associations.