Shloka 31
Vyaktāvyakta-Viveka and Nivṛtti as Paramā Gati
Manifest–Unmanifest Discrimination and the Supreme Path of Withdrawal
शब्द: स्पर्शक्ष रूपं च रसो गन्धस्तथैव च । विज्ञेयं व्यापकं चित्तं तेषु सर्वगतं मन:,शब्द, स्पर्श, रूप, रस और गन्ध--ये पाँच विषय हैं तथा इनमें व्यापक जो चित्त है, उसीको मन समझना चाहिये। मन सर्वगत कहा गया है
śabdaḥ sparśaś ca rūpaṃ ca raso gandhas tathaiva ca | vijñeyaṃ vyāpakaṃ cittaṃ teṣu sarvagataṃ manaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “Sound, touch, form, taste, and smell—these are the five objects of experience. Know that the mind is that all-pervading consciousness (citta) which extends through them all; therefore the mind is said to be everywhere-present, moving through every field of sense-perception.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines the mind in relation to sense-experience: the five sense-objects are sound, touch, form, taste, and smell, and the mind (manas) is to be understood as the pervasive citta that ranges through and connects with all these objects. This supports ethical self-mastery by urging discernment of how consciousness spreads outward through the senses.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and right living, Bhīṣma continues his philosophical teaching to Yudhiṣṭhira, explaining the workings of the inner instrument—how mind/consciousness relates to sensory objects—so that the listener may cultivate restraint and insight.