Shloka 18
अविद्याबीज-निरूपणं, योगस्वरूप-उपदेशः, मूर्तहरिधारणा-समाधि, जनकवंशीय-राजर्षिसंवादः
पञ्चभूतात्मकैर् भोगैः पञ्चभूतात्मकं वपुः आप्यायते यदि ततः पुंसो गर्वो ऽत्र किं कृतः
pañcabhūtātmakair bhogaiḥ pañcabhūtātmakaṃ vapuḥ āpyāyate yadi tataḥ puṃso garvo 'tra kiṃ kṛtaḥ
If, by enjoyments made of the five great elements, a body likewise made of those five is merely nourished and fattened, what is there in this for a man to be proud of?
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Why pride is irrational when both pleasures and body are merely pañca-bhūta composites
Teaching: Philosophical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Since both the enjoyer’s body and the enjoyed objects are made of the same five elements, bodily ‘growth’ from enjoyment is no ground for pride.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Counter vanity by tracing pleasures and body back to shared material constituents; redirect effort to inner purification and devotion.
Vishishtadvaita: Encourages humility of the jīva (aṇutva) and dependence, preparing for śaraṇāgati/bhakti as the true means beyond material self-inflation.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse uses the five-element framework to show that both the body and its pleasures are materially identical, so attachment to bodily growth or gratification is spiritually empty.
He argues that ‘nourishing the body’ is only an elemental process—elements feeding elements—so ego based on physical condition, pleasure, or prosperity has no real basis.
By diminishing pride in the perishable elemental body, the teaching implicitly redirects attention toward the imperishable Supreme Reality—Vishnu—as the true ground of meaning beyond material enjoyment.