Shloka 6
Bhūta-guṇa-saṃkhyāna
Enumeration of the Properties of the Elements and Cognitive Faculties
इन्द्रियाणि तु तान्याहुस्तेष्वदृश्यो5धितिष्ठति । तिष्ठती पुरुषे बुद्धिस्त्रिषु भावेषु वर्तते
indriyāṇi tu tāny āhus teṣv adṛśyo ’dhitiṣṭhati | tiṣṭhatī puruṣe buddhis triṣu bhāveṣu vartate ||
Vyāsa said: Those modifications are called the senses; within them the unseen Self presides. The intellect abides in that person (the embodied Self) and yet functions amid the three dispositions—sattva, rajas, and tamas. The teaching points to inner governance: sensory activity is not the ultimate agent; the subtle Self underlies it, while the mind’s discernment is colored by the three guṇas and must be purified for right conduct.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sense-operations are not the final controller; an unseen inner Self presides over them. Intellect (buddhi) resides in the embodied being but is influenced by the three guṇas, so ethical clarity requires cultivating sattva and reducing rajas and tamas.
In the didactic discourse of Śānti Parva, Vyāsa explains the inner constitution of a person—how senses, the unseen Self, and intellect relate—so that the listener can understand agency, restraint, and the basis for righteous conduct.