Shloka 14

नारद–शुक संवादः (Nārada–Śuka Dialogue): Tyāga, Saṃyama, and Vyakta–Avyakta Viveka

Devanagari script

प्रतिभामपवर्ग च प्रतिसंहृत्य मैथिल । इन्द्रियग्राममखिलं मनस्यभिनिवेश्य ह

Transliteration

pratibhām apavargaṁ ca pratisaṁhṛtya maithila | indriyagrāmam akhilaṁ manasy abhiniveśya ha ||

Translation

Yājñavalkya said: “O Maithila, having withdrawn both discerning insight (pratibhā) and the impulse toward liberation (apavarga), and having gathered the entire host of the senses, he fixes them within the mind.”

Word by Word

• प्रतिभाम्: intelligence, insight
• प्रतिभाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रतिभा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• अपवर्गम्: liberation, final release
• अपवर्गम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अपवर्ग
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• प्रतिसंहृत्य: having withdrawn, having retracted
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-हृ (प्रति-सम्-हृ)
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• मैथिल: O Maithila (descendant of Mithilā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मैथिल
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• इन्द्रियग्रामम्: the collection of senses
• इन्द्रियग्रामम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्रियग्राम
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अखिलम्: entire, whole
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अखिल
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• मनसि: in the mind
• मनसि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• अभिनिवेश्य: having fixed/placed (it), having settled
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-विश् (अभि-नि-विश्)
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• ह: indeed, surely (emphatic particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ह

Speaker

याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yājñavalkya
• Maithila (Janaka, king of Mithilā)
• indriyagrāma (the senses)
• manas (mind)
• apavarga (liberation)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The core teaching is inward mastery: one should withdraw the senses from external objects and concentrate them in the mind. The verse also suggests a subtler discipline—setting aside even refined mental powers (pratibhā) and the restless drive toward attainment (apavarga) so the mind rests in collected steadiness.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yājñavalkya is instructing Maithila (Janaka) on inner practice. He describes the yogic act of retracting faculties and gathering the senses, then fixing them in the mind—an instruction situated within the Shānti Parva’s broader teaching on peace, self-governance, and liberation.