Shloka 19

मनु-उपदेशः — भूत-उत्पत्ति, इन्द्रिय-निवृत्ति, तथा पर-स्वभाव-विवेकः

Manu’s Instruction on Elemental Origination, Sense-Withdrawal, and Discrimination of the Supreme Nature

Devanagari script

यह चराचर जगत्‌ बुद्धिके उदय होनेपर ही उत्पन्न होता है और उसके लयके साथ ही लीन हो जाता है; इसलिये यह सारा प्रपंच बुद्धिमय ही है; अतएव श्रुतिने सबकी बुद्धिरूपताका ही निर्देश किया है ।। येन पश्यति तच्चक्षु: शृणोति श्रोत्रमुच्यते । जिप्रति प्राणमित्याहू रसं जानाति जिह्दया,बुद्धि जिसके द्वारा देखती है, उसे नेत्र और जिसके द्वारा सुनती है, उसे श्रोत्र कहते हैं। इसी प्रकार जिससे वह सूँघती है, उसे प्राण कहा गया है, वही जिहद्ठाके द्वारा रसका अनुभव करती है

Transliteration

yena paśyati tac cakṣuḥ, śṛṇoti śrotram ucyate | jighrati prāṇam ity āhuḥ, rasaṁ jānāti jihvayā ||

Translation

Bhishma said: This moving and unmoving world is born only when the intellect (buddhi) arises, and with its subsiding it is dissolved. Therefore this whole expanse is made of buddhi; thus the śruti points to the buddhi-nature of all. That by which awareness sees is called the eye; that by which it hears is called the ear. Likewise, that by which it smells is termed prāṇa (the vital breath), and by the tongue it knows taste. So the so‑called senses are not independent powers, but names for the functions through which the inner intelligence apprehends the world.

Word by Word

येनby which

पश्यतिsees

तत्that

चक्षुःthe eye (organ of sight)

शृणोतिhears

श्रोत्रम्the ear (organ of hearing)

उच्यतेis called

जिघ्रतिsmells

प्राणम्breath; vital air (here: organ/function of smell)

इतिthus

आहुःthey say

रसम्taste; flavor

जानातिknows; perceives

जिह्वयाby the tongue

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that ‘eye’ and ‘ear’ are functional names for the means by which inner intelligence (buddhi/awareness) perceives; the senses are instruments, while cognition belongs to the inner principle. This supports the broader claim that the experienced world is ‘buddhi-made’ in the sense that it is known, structured, and finally withdrawn through buddhi.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on liberation-oriented dharma. Here he explains how perception works—defining the sense-organs by their functions—to shift attention from external objects to the inner knower and the role of buddhi in experience.