Shloka 15
अध्यात्म-तत्त्व-निर्णयः
Adhyātma Taxonomy: Elements, Faculties, and Guṇas
एवं सप्तदशं देहे वृतं षोडशभिग्गुणै: । मनीषी मनसा विप्र: पश्यत्यात्मानमात्मनि
evaṁ saptadaśaṁ dehe vṛtaṁ ṣoḍaśabhir guṇaiḥ | manīṣī manasā vipraḥ paśyaty ātmānam ātmani ||
Vyāsa said: Thus, within this body, the seventeenth principle—the Supreme Self—is veiled by sixteen constituents. Yet the discerning brāhmaṇa, by the power of mind and insight, beholds the Self within the inner self. The teaching underscores that ethical and spiritual clarity arises not from external rites alone, but from inward discernment that penetrates the coverings of sense, breath, and mental activity to realize the indwelling reality.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The Supreme Self (counted as the seventeenth) is present within the body but is obscured by sixteen covering constituents (such as senses, objects, mind, vital airs, and individuality). Through disciplined inner discernment, the wise person realizes the Self within, moving from outward identification to inward knowledge.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, Vyāsa continues a doctrinal exposition: he explains how the embodied being fails to recognize the indwelling Self due to layers of psycho-physical factors, and how a discerning brāhmaṇa can directly perceive that Self through inner contemplation.