Shloka 37
Vyaktāvyakta-Viveka and Nivṛtti as Paramā Gati
Manifest–Unmanifest Discrimination and the Supreme Path of Withdrawal
इस प्रकार ये सम्पूर्ण पदार्थ समस्त चराचर जगत्का भार वहन करते हैं। ये सब जो प्रकृतिसे अतीत रजोगुणरहित हैं, उस परमदेव परमात्माके आश्रित हैं ।। नदद्वारं पुरं पुण्यमेतैर्भावै: समन्वितम् । व्याप्य शेते महानात्मा तस्मात् पुरुष उच्यते,इन्हीं चौबीस पदार्थोंसे सम्पन्न इस नौ द्वारोंवाले पवित्र पुर (शरीर)-को व्याप्त करके इसमें इन सबसे जो महान् है वह आत्मा शयन करता है; इसलिये उसे “पुरुष” कहते हैं
nava-dvāraṁ puraṁ puṇyam etair bhāvaiḥ samanvitam | vyāpya śete mahānātmā tasmāt puruṣa ucyate ||
Bhīṣma explains that thus all these principles bear the burden of the entire world—moving and unmoving. They all depend upon the Supreme God, the Paramātman, who transcends Prakṛti and is free from rajas. And this sacred ‘city’ of the body, with nine gates and constituted by these principles, is pervaded from within by the great Self; that indwelling Self ‘rests’ in it and permeates it while remaining distinct from its material constituents. Therefore He is called Puruṣa—“the one who dwells in the city (pura)”—the inner ruler upon whom the world’s moving and unmoving beings ultimately depend.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The body is described as a nine-gated ‘city’ made of material constituents, but the true ‘Person’ (Puruṣa) is the great Self that pervades and indwells it while remaining higher than prakṛti and its guṇas. Recognizing the Self as distinct from the body-mind complex is presented as a basis for spiritual discernment and liberation.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and higher knowledge, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira about the constitution of the embodied being. He uses the metaphor of the body as a city with nine gates and identifies the indwelling, all-pervading Self as ‘Puruṣa,’ grounding ethical steadiness in metaphysical understanding.