Shloka 4
Adhyāya 353 — Kathā-prāmāṇya (Authority of Transmission) and the Brāhmaṇa’s Ascetic Resolve
ममान्तरात्मा तव च ये चान्ये देहिसंज्ञिता: । सर्वेषां साक्षिभूतोडसौ न ग्राह्म: केनचित् क्वचित्
mamāntarātmā tava ca ye cānye dehi-saṃjñitāḥ | sarveṣāṃ sākṣibhūto 'sau na grāhyaḥ kenacit kvacit ||
Bhīṣma said: “He is the inner Self of me, of you, and of all other beings who are known as embodied souls. As the witness of everyone, that Supreme Person—Śrī Hari—cannot be seized or grasped by anyone, anywhere.”
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The Supreme Reality is the indwelling Self of all embodied beings and functions as the universal witness; because it transcends sense and mental objects, it cannot be physically or conceptually ‘grasped’ like ordinary things.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma addresses the listener (traditionally Yudhiṣṭhira) and explains a contemplative doctrine: the Lord as inner Self of all beings, ever-present as witness, yet beyond capture by any external means.