Shloka 99

Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)

Devanagari script

न चैषां चोदना काचिदस्तीत्येष विनिश्चय: । शब्द, स्पर्श, रूप, रस और गन्ध तथा पाँचों ज्ञानेन्द्रियाँ--ये आत्मासे पृथक्‌ होनेपर भी काष्ठमें सटे हुए लाहके समान आत्माके साथ जुड़े हुए हैं; परंतु इनमें स्वतन्त्र कोई प्रेरणा- शक्ति नहीं है। यही विद्वानोंका निश्चय है ।।

Transliteration

na caiṣāṁ codanā kācid astīty eṣa viniścayaḥ | śabda-sparśa-rūpa-rasa-gandhāś ca pañca jñānendriyāṇi—te ātmataḥ pṛthag bhūtā api kāṣṭhe saṭe lākṣāvat ātmanaḥ saha saṁyuktāḥ; na tu teṣāṁ svatantrā kācid prerā-śaktir asti—iti viduṣāṁ viniścayaḥ | ekaikasyeha vijñānaṁ nāsty ātmani tathā pare ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “There is no independent impulse or command in these (sense-objects and sense-faculties)—this is the settled conclusion. Sound, touch, form, taste, and smell, along with the five organs of knowledge, though distinct from the Self, remain attached to the Self like lac clinging to wood. Yet none of them possesses an autonomous power to impel. This is the determination of the wise. In this matter, no single one by itself constitutes true knowing—neither in relation to the Self nor to what is other than the Self.”

Word by Word

• {'codanā': 'impulsion, injunction, prompting force', 'viniścayaḥ': 'settled conclusion, final determination', 'śabda': 'sound', 'sparśa': 'touch', 'rūpa': 'form, visible appearance', 'rasa': 'taste, flavor', 'gandha': 'smell, fragrance', 'jñānendriyāṇi': 'organs of knowledge (sense faculties)', 'ātman': 'the Self, inner consciousness', 'pṛthak': 'separate, distinct', 'saṁyukta': 'joined, connected, associated', 'kāṣṭha': 'wood', 'lākṣā': 'lac (resin), used as an adhesive/dye

• metaphor for clinging', 'svatantra': 'independent, autonomous', 'prerā-śakti': 'power to impel, motivating force', 'viduṣām': 'of the wise/learned', 'ekaika': 'each single one, individually', 'vijñāna': 'discriminative knowledge, true cognition', 'para': 'the other

Speaker

भीष्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• ātman (Self)
• śabda (sound)
• sparśa (touch)
• rūpa (form)
• rasa (taste)
• gandha (smell)
• pañca jñānendriyāṇi (five sense faculties)
• kāṣṭha (wood)
• lākṣā (lac)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sense-objects and sense-faculties appear closely bound to the Self, but they do not possess independent agency or an autonomous power to impel action; true discernment arises from understanding their dependence and the distinctness of the Self.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Shanti Parva’s instruction, Bhishma continues his philosophical counsel, explaining to his listener that the senses and their objects cling to the Self like lac to wood, yet they are not self-directing forces; this supports ethical restraint and detachment grounded in self-knowledge.