Shloka 21
Adhyāya 249 — Mṛtyu-prādurbhāvaḥ (The Manifestation of Death) / Restraint of Tejas and Ordered Saṃhāra
आत्मज्ञानमिदं गुहां सर्वगुह्मृतमं महत् । अब्र॒ुवं यदहं तात आत्मसाक्षिकमञ्जसा
ātmajñānam idaṁ guhāṁ sarvaguhyṛtamaṁ mahat | abruvaṁ yad ahaṁ tāta ātmasākṣikam añjasā ||
Vyāsa said: “This teaching of Self-knowledge is a profound secret—indeed the greatest and most carefully guarded of all secrets. What I have declared to you, dear one, is verified by direct inner witness (the Self itself) and can be realized straightforwardly.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes that Self-knowledge (ātmajñāna) is the highest and most guarded secret, and that its truth is confirmed by direct inner experience—the Self as witness (ātma-sākṣin)—rather than by mere hearsay or external proof.
Vyāsa, speaking as a spiritual authority, concludes or underscores his instruction by stressing the exceptional profundity of what he has taught and assuring the listener—addressed affectionately as “tāta”—that it is directly verifiable through inner realization.