Shloka 18

Devanagari script

चेतनेन समेतस्य पञ्चविंशतिकस्य ह । एकत्वं वै भवत्यस्य यदा बुद्धा न बुध्यते,जब जीवात्मा बुद्धिके द्वारा जडवर्गको अपना नहीं समझता अर्थात्‌ उससे सम्बन्ध नहीं जोड़ता, तब नित्य चेतन परमात्मासे संयुक्त हुए उस जीवात्माकी परमात्माके साथ एकता हो जाती है

Transliteration

cetanena sametasya pañcaviṁśatikasya ha | ekatvaṁ vai bhavaty asya yadā buddhā na budhyate ||

Translation

Vasiṣṭha said: When the individual self—counted among the twenty-five principles and conjoined with pure consciousness—no longer ‘knows’ through the intellect, that is, when it ceases to appropriate the inert aggregate as ‘I’ or ‘mine’, then its oneness with the Supreme, ever-conscious Reality is realized.

Word by Word

चेतनेनwith/by the conscious (principle)

समेतस्यof (that which is) united/associated

पञ्चविंशतिकस्यof the twenty-fifth (principle/entity)

हindeed

एकत्वम्oneness/identity

वैcertainly

भवतिbecomes/is

अस्यof this/of him

यदाwhen

बुद्धाthe intellect (buddhi)

नnot

बुध्यतेunderstands/realizes (is aware)

Speaker

वसिष्ठ उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vasiṣṭha

buddhi (intellect)

cetanā (consciousness)

pañcaviṁśati-tattva framework (twenty-five principles)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Liberation arises when the self stops identifying with the inert psycho-physical aggregate through buddhi; with the collapse of ‘I/mine’ appropriation, the self’s unity with the ever-conscious Supreme is realized.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on liberation, Vasiṣṭha explains a Sāṅkhya-leaning analysis: the self (counted among the tattvas) is associated with consciousness, and when intellect ceases to project identification, the realization of oneness with the Supreme follows.