Shloka 57
नास्य पर्येषणं गच्छेत् प्राचीनं नोत दक्षिणम् | नार्वाचीनं कुतस्तिर्यड्नादिशं तु कथठचन,इस आत्माकी खोज करनेके लिये पूर्व, दक्षिण, पश्चिम या उत्तरकी ओर जानेकी आवश्यकता नहीं है; फिर आग्नेय आदि कोणोंकी तो बात ही क्या है? इसी प्रकार दिग्विभागसे रहित प्रदेशमें भी उसे नहीं ढूँढ़ना चाहिये
nāsya paryeṣaṇaṁ gacchet prācīnaṁ nota dakṣiṇam | nārvācīnaṁ kutaḥ tiryag nādiśaṁ tu kathaṁcana ||
Sanatsujāta teaches that the Self (ātman) is not something to be found by traveling in any direction. One need not go east or south, nor west or north; and if even the cardinal directions do not apply, the intermediate quarters matter still less. The search for the ātman is not a geographical pursuit—do not look for it in any region defined by directions, but turn inward through discernment and self-knowledge.
सनत्युजात उवाच
Educational Q&A
The ātman is not discovered by outward movement or by locating it in any physical direction; it is realized inwardly through knowledge and discernment, beyond spatial categories.
In the Sanatsujātīya section of Udyoga Parva, Sanatsujāta instructs (to Dhṛtarāṣṭra in context) on the nature of the Self and liberation, emphasizing that true realization is not a matter of traveling to places but of inner awakening.