Shloka 13
Doṣa-Parīkṣā and Guṇa-Viveka
Examination of Faults and Discernment of the Guṇas
मनस्त्वपद्ठतं पूर्वमिन्द्रियार्थनिदर्शकम् । न समक्षगुणापेक्षि निर्गुणस्य निदर्शकम्,परंतु इन्द्रियोंके विषयोंको दिखानेवाला मन जब पहलेसे ही विषयोंकी ओर अपहृत हो जाता है, तब वह विषयरूप गुणोंकी अपेक्षा रखनेवाला मन निर्गुण तत्त्वका दर्शन करानेमें समर्थ नहीं होता
manas tv apahṛtaṁ pūrvam indriyārtha-nidarśakam | na samakṣa-guṇāpekṣi nirguṇasya nidarśakam ||
Bhishma said: The mind, whose office is to point out the objects of the senses, if it has already been drawn away beforehand toward those objects, cannot then reveal the attributeless Reality (Nirguṇa). For a mind that depends upon the qualities of sense-objects is not capable of giving direct vision of the Nirguṇa principle.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A mind habituated to sense-objects remains dependent on their qualities and therefore cannot disclose the attributeless (nirguṇa) Reality; inner withdrawal and mastery of the senses are prerequisites for higher realization.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhishma continues advising Yudhishthira by explaining a psychological obstacle to spiritual knowledge: the mind, when already drawn outward by sensory engagement, is unfit to give direct insight into the nirguṇa principle.