Shloka 42
Vyaktāvyakta-Viveka and Nivṛtti as Paramā Gati
Manifest–Unmanifest Discrimination and the Supreme Path of Withdrawal
अग्निर्यथा हुपायेन मथित्वा दारु दृश्यते । तथैवात्मा शरीरस्थो योगेनैवात्र दृश्यते
agnir yathā upāyena mathitvā dāru dṛśyate | tathaivātmā śarīrastho yogenaivātra dṛśyate ||
Bhīṣma explica que, así como el fuego, aunque impregna la madera, no se ve hasta que la madera se frota por el método adecuado, del mismo modo el Ser que mora en el cuerpo no es visible directamente; aquí solo se lo realiza mediante el yoga. La enseñanza ética es que la verdad interior no se capta por mera observación externa o por argumentación, sino por una práctica disciplinada que revela lo que ya está presente.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The Self is present within the body but is not an object of ordinary perception; it is made manifest through yoga, just as fire hidden in wood is revealed by the right method of churning.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on liberation-oriented dharma; here he uses a practical analogy (fire in wood) to clarify how spiritual discipline leads to direct realization of the indwelling Self.