Shloka 7

अव्यक्त–व्यक्त–कारणकार्यविवेकः

Avyakta–Vyakta and Causality: Discrimination of Field and Knower

Devanagari script

विषयेषु तु संसर्गाच्छा श्वतस्य तु संश्रयात्‌ । मनसा चान्यथा कांक्षन्‌ परं न प्रतिपद्यते

Transliteration

viṣayeṣu tu saṃsargāc chāśvatasya tu saṃśrayāt | manasā cānyathā kāṅkṣan paraṃ na pratipadyate ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: Through continued contact with sense-objects, and by taking refuge in what is transient and unstable, a person—though inwardly wishing for something higher—fails to attain the Supreme. The mind, pulled outward by habitual attachment, cannot realize the highest good while it clings to impermanent supports.

Word by Word

विषयेषुin sense-objects

तुbut/indeed

संसर्गात्from contact/association

चand

अश्वतस्यof the अश्वत (restless/horse-like one; i.e., the mind)

तुindeed

संश्रयात्from dependence/resort (to it)

मनसाby/with the mind

चand

अन्यथाotherwise/contrarily

काङ्क्षन्desiring

परम्the highest (goal)

नnot

प्रतिपद्यतेattains/realizes

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?

Attachment formed by repeated contact with sense-objects, and reliance on impermanent supports, prevents realization of the Supreme; even if one intellectually or emotionally longs for the highest, the mind cannot reach it while bound to transient pleasures.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on dharma and the path to the highest good. Here he explains a psychological-ethical obstacle: habitual sensory involvement and dependence on the non-eternal derail the seeker’s aspiration for the supreme goal.