Shloka 17
ध्यानयोगवर्णनम्
Description of the Path of Meditation
न पश्यति न चाप्राति न शूणोति न भाषते । न च स्पर्शरसौ वेत्ति निद्रावशगत: पुनः,निद्राके वशमें पड़ा हुआ पुरुष (सम्पूर्ण इन्द्रियोंके होते हुए भी) न देखता है, न सूँघता है, न सुनता है, न बोलता है और न स्पर्श तथा रसका ही अनुभव करता है
bharadvāja uvāca | na paśyati na cāprāti na śṛṇoti na bhāṣate | na ca sparśarasau vetti nidrāvaśagataḥ punaḥ ||
Bharadvāja said: When a person is overpowered by sleep, even though all the senses are present, he neither sees nor smells, neither hears nor speaks; and he does not even apprehend touch or taste.
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Perception and experience do not arise from the mere presence of sense-organs; they depend on an active, connected consciousness. Sleep illustrates that when awareness is withdrawn, sensory functions become ineffective, pointing to the primacy of mind/awareness in ethical agency and knowledge.
In a didactic exchange within Śānti Parva, the sage Bharadvāja uses the familiar example of sleep to argue about the relationship between the senses and inner awareness—showing that the self’s cognitive connection is what enables seeing, hearing, speaking, and tasting.