Shloka 13

Devanagari script

बुद्धिरध्यात्ममित्याहुर्यथावदभिदर्शिन: । बोद्धव्यमधिभूतं तु क्षेत्रज्ञक्नाधिदिवतम्‌,यथार्थ ज्ञानी पुरुष कहते हैं कि बुद्धि अध्यात्म है, बोद्धव्य अधिभूत है और आत्मा अधिदेवता है

Transliteration

buddhir adhyātmam ity āhur yathāvad abhidarśinaḥ | boddhavyam adhibhūtaṃ tu kṣetrajñam adhidaivatam ||

Translation

Yājñavalkya said: “Those seers who perceive things as they truly are declare that intellect (buddhi) belongs to the adhyātma, the inner spiritual domain. The object to be known is adhibhūta, the realm of embodied elements. And the Knower of the Field (Kṣetrajña)—the Self that witnesses within—is to be understood as adhidaivata, the presiding divine principle.”

Word by Word

बुद्धिःintellect

अध्यात्मम्the spiritual/pertaining to the self (adhyātma)

इतिthus

आहुःthey say

यथावत्properly, as it truly is

अभिदर्शिनःthose who see/know clearly (true seers)

बोद्धव्यम्that which is to be known

अधिभूतम्the elemental/pertaining to beings (adhibhūta)

तुbut, indeed

क्षेत्रज्ञःthe knower of the field (self)

अधिदैवतम्the divine/pertaining to deity (adhidaivata)

Speaker

याज़्वल्क्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yājñavalkya

abhidarśinaḥ (true seers)

buddhi (intellect)

adhyātma

adhibhūta

kṣetrajña (Knower of the Field)

adhidaivata

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?

Experience can be understood through a threefold framework: buddhi (intellect) is the inner spiritual domain (adhyātma), the knowable objects belong to the material/embodied domain (adhibhūta), and the kṣetrajña—the witnessing Self—is the presiding divine principle (adhidaivata). This encourages discernment: do not confuse external objects with the inner witness, and recognize the governing consciousness behind cognition.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, the sage Yājñavalkya is expounding a philosophical classification to clarify how knowledge operates—distinguishing the inner instrument of knowing (buddhi), the external field of objects (adhibhūta), and the indwelling knower (kṣetrajña/adhidaivata).