Shloka 5
Yoga, Nārāyaṇa as Supreme Principle, and the Emanation of Categories
Sāṅkhya-Yoga Outline
श्रोत्रादीनि न पश्यन्ति स्वं स्वमात्मानमात्मना । सर्वज्ञ: सर्वदर्शी च सर्वज्ञस्तानि पश्यति,श्रोत्र आदि इन्द्रियाँ स्वयं अपने द्वारा आपको नहीं जान सकतीं। आत्मा सर्वज्ञ और सबका साक्षी है। सर्वज्ञ होनेके कारण ही वह उन सबको जानता है
śrotrādīni na paśyanti svaṃ svam ātmānam ātmanā | sarvajñaḥ sarvadarśī ca sarvajñas tāni paśyati ||
Bhīṣma said: “The ear and the other sense-faculties do not perceive their own Self by their own power. But the Self—omniscient and the all-seeing witness—perceives and knows them all.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sense-organs can apprehend external objects but cannot turn back to grasp the Self as an object. The Atman is presented as the inner witness—self-luminous, all-seeing, and therefore capable of knowing the senses and their operations.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, Bhīṣma continues his philosophical teaching, distinguishing the limited reach of the indriyas (senses) from the higher knowing principle (Atman) that observes and comprehends them.