Shloka 40

Devanagari script

श्रोत्रं वेदयते वेद्यं स शृणोति स पश्यति । कारणं तस्य देहो5यं स कर्ता सर्वकर्मणाम्‌,वही श्रवणेन्द्रियको उसके ज्ञेयभूत शब्दका बोध कराता है। तात्पर्य यह कि श्रवण और नेत्रोंद्राय वही सुनता और देखता है। यह शरीर उसके शब्द आदि विषयोंके अनुभवमें निमित्त है। वह जीवात्मा ही समस्त कर्मोका कर्ता है

Transliteration

śrotraṃ vedayate vedyaṃ sa śṛṇoti sa paśyati | kāraṇaṃ tasya deho 'yaṃ sa kartā sarvakarmaṇām ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “The ear makes the knowable sound known; it is that inner Self who truly hears and who truly sees. This body is merely the instrumental cause for his experience of sound and the other objects of sense. That very individual self (jīva) is the doer of all actions.”

Word by Word

श्रोत्रम्the ear (organ of hearing)

वेदयतेmakes known, causes to be perceived

वेद्यम्the knowable (object)

सःhe (that one)

शृणोतिhe hears

सःhe

पश्यतिhe sees

कारणम्the cause/instrumental basis

तस्यof him/its

देहःthe body

अयम्this

सःhe

कर्ताdoer, agent

सर्वकर्मणाम्of all actions

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

śrotra (ear)

deha (body)

jīva/ātman (implied agent-self)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Perception occurs through sense-organs, but the true experiencer and agent is the inner self (jīva/ātman). The body functions as an instrument (kāraṇa/nimitta) for experiencing objects, while moral responsibility for action is attributed to the self as kartā.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s post-war instruction, Bhishma continues his philosophical-ethical discourse to Yudhishthira, explaining how cognition and action relate to the senses, the body, and the inner self, grounding ethical accountability in the agent-self rather than in the mere physical body.