Shloka 31

ध्यानयोगवर्णनम्

Description of the Path of Meditation

Devanagari script

मानसोडग्नि: शरीरेषु जीव इत्यभिधीयते । सृष्टि: प्रजापतेरेषा भूताध्यात्मविनिश्चये,समस्त शरीरोंमें मनके भीतर रहनेवाला जो अग्निके समान प्रकाशस्वरूप चैतन्य है, उसीको समष्टि जीवस्वरूप प्रजापति कहते हैं। उसी प्रजापतिसे यह सृष्टि उत्पन्न हुई है। यह बात अध्यात्मतत्त्वका निश्चय करके कही गयी है

Transliteration

mānaso 'gnīḥ śarīreṣu jīva ity abhidhīyate | sṛṣṭiḥ prajāpater eṣā bhūtādhyātma-viniścaye ||

Translation

Bharadvāja said: “Within bodies, the inner fire that abides in the mind—luminous like flame—is spoken of as the ‘jīva’ (the living self). From that Prajāpati, understood as the collective principle of life, this creation proceeds. This is stated after a settled discernment of the truth of the inner self in relation to beings.”

Word by Word

• {'mānasaḥ': 'mental

• pertaining to the mind', 'agniḥ': 'fire

• here, the inner luminous principle', 'śarīreṣu': 'in (all) bodies', 'jīvaḥ': 'the living self

• vital conscious principle', 'iti': 'thus', 'abhidhīyate': 'is called

• is designated', 'sṛṣṭiḥ': 'creation

• emanation', 'prajāpateḥ': 'of Prajāpati (Lord of creatures

• progenitor principle)', 'eṣā': 'this', 'bhūta': 'beings

• created entities', 'adhyātma': 'pertaining to the inner self/spirit

• the domain of the self', 'viniścaya': 'ascertainment

• settled conclusion', 'bhūtādhyātma-viniścaye': 'in the ascertainment of (the relation between) beings and the inner self / in the settled doctrine of adhyātma regarding beings'}

Speaker

भरद्वाज उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bharadvāja
• Prajāpati
• jīva
• agni (inner fire)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse identifies the jīva as an inner, fire-like luminous consciousness associated with the mind within all bodies, and links cosmic creation to Prajāpati understood as the collective life-principle; it frames this as a conclusion reached through adhyātma (inner spiritual) discernment.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Bharadvāja is explaining a doctrine of the self and creation: he defines what is meant by ‘jīva’ in embodied beings and states that creation arises from Prajāpati, presenting it as a reasoned metaphysical conclusion.