Shloka 15
Śukasya Janma-yoga-phalaṁ — Vyāsasya Tapasā Putrārthaḥ (Śānti-parva 310)
मन: षोडशकं प्राहुरध्यात्मगतिचिन्तका: । त्वं चैवान्ये च विद्वांसस्तत्त्वबुद्धिविशारदा:,(ये सब मिलकर पंद्रह हैं) इनके साथ सोलहवाँ मन है। अध्यात्मगतिका चिन्तन करनेवाले तत्त्वज्ञान-विशारद तुम और दूसरे विद्वान् भी इन्हींको सोलह विकार कहते हैं
manaḥ ṣoḍaśakaṃ prāhur adhyātma-gati-cintakāḥ | tvaṃ caivānye ca vidvāṃsas tattva-buddhi-viśāradāḥ ||
Yājñavalkya said: “Those who contemplate the inner course of the Self declare a set of sixteen, including the mind (manas). You, and other learned men skilled in discerning reality, likewise recognize these as the sixteen modifications (vikāras) that shape embodied experience.”
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a recognized doctrinal enumeration: contemplatives of adhyātma describe a ‘sixteenfold’ set of inner modifications, with mind counted among them. The emphasis is on disciplined discernment (tattva-buddhi) that classifies the components shaping embodied experience, supporting self-knowledge and ethical steadiness.
Yājñavalkya is instructing an interlocutor (addressed as ‘you’) within the Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, appealing to the consensus of learned experts: those who reflect on the inner life describe a sixteenfold scheme, and the wise agree on this classification.