Shloka 95

Devanagari script

मनो<नु याति क्षेत्रज्ञ कर्मणी च शुभाशुभे । शिष्या इव महात्मानमिन्द्रियाणि च त॑ प्रभो,भरतनन्दन! धर्मात्मा राजा युधिष्ठिर! परब्रह्म परमात्मा सात््विक, राजस और तामस गुणोंको एवं बुद्धि, मन, आकाश, वायु, तेज, जल, और पृथ्वी-इन सबके सम्पूर्ण गुणोंको तथा अन्य सब वस्तुओंको भी अपने गुणोंद्वारा व्याप्त करके सभी क्षेत्रज्ञों (जीवात्माओं) में स्थित हैं, प्रभो! जैसे शिष्य अपने गुरुके पीछे चलते हैं, उसी प्रकार मन, इन्द्रियाँ और शुभाशुभ कर्म भी उस जीवात्माके पीछे-पीछे चलते हैं। जब जीवात्मा इन्द्रियों और प्रकृतिको भी लाँचकर जाता है, तब उस नारायणस्वरूप अविनाशी परमात्माको प्राप्त हो जाता है, जो द्वन्द्ररहित और मायासे अतीत है

Transliteration

mano 'nu yāti kṣetrajñaḥ karmaṇī ca śubhāśubhe | śiṣyā iva mahātmānam indriyāṇi ca taṁ prabho bharatanandana dharmātmā rājā yudhiṣṭhira |

Translation

Bhishma said: “O lord, O delight of the Bharatas—righteous King Yudhishthira—when the knower of the field (the embodied self) proceeds onward, the mind follows after it, and so too do the senses, along with deeds that are good and evil. Just as disciples walk behind a great-souled teacher, in the same way mind, senses, and the moral residue of action trail the living self.”

Word by Word

मनःmind

अनुafter, following

यातिgoes, follows

क्षेत्रज्ञम्the knower of the field (self)

कर्मणिin action, in deeds

चand

शुभाशुभेin good and bad (acts/results)

शिष्याःdisciples

इवlike, as

महात्मानम्the great-souled one (teacher)

इन्द्रियाणिthe senses

चand

तेthey

प्रभोO lord

भरतनन्दनO descendant/delighter of Bharata

धर्मात्माrighteous-souled

राजाking

युधिष्ठिरO Yudhiṣṭhira

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Yudhiṣṭhira

Bharata (dynastic reference)

kṣetrajña (the embodied self/jīva)

manas (mind)

indriyas (senses)

karma (action)

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?

Bhīṣma teaches that the conscious self (kṣetrajña/jīva) is the principal traveler, and that mind, senses, and the moral momentum of good and evil actions accompany it—implying personal responsibility and continuity of ethical consequences beyond a single moment or life.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and liberation-oriented philosophy. Here he explains how the inner faculties (mind and senses) and one’s accumulated actions ‘follow’ the embodied self, using the simile of disciples following a teacher.