Shloka 18
Adhyāya 241: Guṇa-sṛṣṭi, Kṣetrajña-sākṣitva, and Śama through Ātma-jñāna (गुणसृष्टिः, क्षेत्रज्ञसाक्षित्वं, शमः)
देवो यः संश्रितस्तस्मिन्नब्बिन्दुरिव पुष्करे । क्षेत्रज्ञ तं विजानीयान्नित्यं योगजितात्मकम्
devo yaḥ saṁśritas tasminn abbindur iva puṣkare | kṣetrajña taṁ vijānīyān nityaṁ yogajitātmakaṁ ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: El principio divino, luminoso por sí mismo, que mora en el corazón de los seres, permanece intocado—como una gota de agua sobre la hoja de loto. Reconoce siempre esa realidad como el Kṣetrajña (el Conocedor del Campo): el Sí mismo interior cuya naturaleza es la maestría alcanzada por el yoga, habiendo sometido la mente.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Recognize the inner Self as the Kṣetrajña—the pure witness dwelling in the heart—unstained by experiences, just as water does not cling to a lotus leaf. The verse emphasizes yogic mastery of the mind as a means to discern this non-attached consciousness.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, Bhishma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira about the nature of the Self. He uses a vivid metaphor (water on a lotus leaf) to explain how the indwelling divine consciousness remains untouched by the body-mind field and should be known as the Kṣetrajña.