Shloka 18
चित्तमिन्द्रियसंघातं मनो बुद्धिस्तथाष्टमी । अष्टौ ज्ञानेन्द्रियाण्याहुरेतान्यध्यात्मचिन्तका:,अध्यात्मतत्त्वोंका चिन्तन करनेवाले पुरुष पाँच इन्द्रिय तथा चित्त, मन और आठवीं बुद्धि--इन आठोंको ज्ञानेन्द्रिय कहते हैं
cittam indriyasaṅghātaṁ mano buddhis tathāṣṭamī | aṣṭau jñānendriyāṇy āhur etāny adhyātmacintakāḥ ||
Asita said: Those who contemplate the truth of the Self declare these to be the ‘organs of knowing’: the mind-stuff (citta), the aggregate of the senses, the mind (manas), and, as the eighth, the intellect (buddhi). In this teaching, inner faculties are counted along with the senses, emphasizing that ethical clarity and liberation depend on mastering the instruments of cognition.
असित उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that true knowledge involves not only the external senses but also the inner instruments—citta, manas, and buddhi. Spiritual contemplatives classify these together as ‘organs of knowing,’ implying that liberation and ethical steadiness require disciplining and clarifying the inner faculties that interpret and judge experience.
In the Moksha-oriented discourse of the Śānti Parva, the sage Asita is explaining an adhyātma framework: he enumerates the cognitive instruments recognized by contemplatives. The discussion is doctrinal rather than event-driven, aiming to guide the listener toward self-understanding and inner restraint.