Shloka 24
Utkramaṇa-sthāna and Ariṣṭa-lakṣaṇa: Yājñavalkya’s Instruction on Departure Pathways and Mortality Signs
त्वड्मांसं रुधिर मेद: पित्तं मज्जास्थि स्नायु च । अष्टौ तान्यथ शुक्रेण जानीहि प्राकृतानि वै,राजन! तुम यह जान लो कि त्वचा, मांस, रुधिर, मेदा, पित्त, मज्जा, अस्थि और स््नायु-ये आठों वस्तुएँ वीर्यसे उत्पन्न हुई हैं; इसलिये प्राकृत ही हैं
tvag-māṁsaṁ rudhiraṁ medaḥ pittaṁ majjāsthi snāyu ca | aṣṭau tāny atha śukreṇa jānīhi prākṛtāni vai, rājan ||
Vasiṣṭha said: “O king, know that skin, flesh, blood, fat, bile, marrow, bone, and sinew—these eight constituents—arise from semen; therefore they are to be understood as ‘natural’ (material, bodily) products.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse classifies key bodily constituents as products of material nature, arising from generative essence (śukra). The ethical implication is to reduce attachment and pride in the body by recognizing it as a natural, composite formation rather than the true Self.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, the sage Vasiṣṭha addresses a king and gives a physiological-philosophical enumeration of bodily elements, using it to ground a teaching aimed at calm understanding and detachment.