Shloka 22

Devanagari script

आपोमयमिदं सर्वमापो मूर्ति: शरीरिणाम्‌ । तत्रात्मा मानसो ब्रह्मा सर्वभूतेषु लोककृत्‌,यह सब प्रपंच जलमय है, प्राणियोंका यह शरीर भी प्रायः जलमय ही है। उसमें मनमें रहनेवाला आत्मा विद्यमान है। वही सम्पूर्ण भूतोंमें लोकस्रष्टा ब्रह्माके नामसे विख्यात है; क्योंकि समस्त जीवोंके संघातका ही नाम ब्रह्मा है

Transliteration

āpomayam idaṃ sarvam āpo mūrtiḥ śarīriṇām | tatrātmā mānaso brahmā sarvabhūteṣu lokakṛt ||

Translation

Bharadvāja said: “All this manifested world is pervaded by water; and the bodies of embodied beings are themselves a form of water. Within that (water-formed body) abides the Self, present in the mind; that very principle is known among all beings as Brahmā, the maker of worlds—because the collective aggregate of living beings is designated as ‘Brahmā.’”

Word by Word

• {'āpomaya': 'made of water

• constituted chiefly of the water-element', 'idaṃ sarvam': 'all this

• the entire manifested field of experience', 'āpaḥ': 'waters

• the water-element (one of the bhūtas)', 'mūrtiḥ': 'form

• concrete manifestation', 'śarīriṇām': 'of embodied beings

• of those who possess bodies', 'tatra': 'therein

• in that (body/constitution)', 'ātmā': 'Self

• inner conscious principle', 'mānasaḥ': 'mental

• abiding/operating in the mind', 'brahmā': 'Brahmā

• here also the cosmic principle identified with the aggregate of beings', 'sarvabhūteṣu': 'in all beings

• among all creatures', 'lokakṛt': 'world-maker

• creator/ordainer of the worlds', 'saṅghāta': 'aggregate

• composite mass (of beings)', 'jīva': 'living being

Speaker

भरद्वाज उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bharadvāja
• Āpaḥ (Water element)
• Ātman (Self)
• Brahmā

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse links cosmology and self-inquiry: the world and the body are described as predominantly ‘water-formed,’ yet within this elemental constitution the conscious Self abides, associated with the mind. That inner principle is identified with ‘Brahmā’ as the world-maker, emphasizing a vision where the cosmic creator is understood through the living totality (the aggregate of beings) and the indwelling Self rather than merely as an external deity.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, Bharadvāja is expounding a philosophical account of embodiment and creation. He explains the elemental basis of the body (water predominance) and then elevates the discussion to the indwelling Self, interpreting ‘Brahmā’ as the creative principle present across all beings and as a name for the collective living aggregate.