Shloka 2
यथेन्द्रियार्थान् युगपत् समस्ता- न्नोपेक्षते कृत्सममतुल्यकालम् । तथाचलं संचरते स दिद्दां- स्तस्मात् स एक: परम: शरीरी,वह एक समय अथवा अनेक समयोंमें भूत और भविष्यके सम्पूर्ण पदार्थोकी, जो इस जन्ममें या दूसरे जन्मोंमें देखे गये हैं, सामान्य रूपसे उपेक्षा नहीं करता अर्थात् उन्हें प्रकाशित ही करता है तथा परस्पर विलग न होनेवाली तीनों अवस्थाओंमें विचरता रहता है; अतः वह सबको जाननेवाला साक्षी सर्वोत्कृष्ट देहका स्वामी आत्मा एक है
bhīṣma uvāca |
yathendriyārthān yugapat samastān
nopekṣate kṛtsnam atulyakālam |
tathācalam sañcarate sa didṛkṣāṁs
tasmāt sa ekaḥ paramaḥ śarīrī ||
Bhishma said: “Just as (the inner witness) does not disregard the entire range of sense-objects—whether all at once or throughout immeasurable time—so too, remaining unmoving, it yet ‘moves about’ as the seer. Therefore that supreme embodied Self is one: the all-knowing witness, the highest lord of the body, who illuminates all experiences across the three inseparable states of consciousness.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the unity and supremacy of the witnessing Self (ātman): though itself unmoving, it illuminates all sense-experiences across time and across the three states (waking, dream, deep sleep). Because it is the constant seer, it is one and the highest lord of the body.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on liberation and right understanding, Bhishma explains to the listener that the true Self is not the changing stream of perceptions; it is the steady witness that makes all perceptions known, thereby grounding ethical detachment and inner stability.