Shloka 34
जनक–पराशर संवादः — वर्ण-गोत्र-धर्मविचारः
Janaka–Parāśara: Varṇa, Gotra, and Dharma Inquiry
पृथग्भूतौ प्रकृत्या तु सम्प्रयुक्तौ च सर्वदा | यथा मत्स्योडद्धिरन्य: स्यात् सम्प्रयुक्तो भवेत् तथा,वे दोनों बुद्धि और क्षेत्रज्ञ स्वभावत: एक-दूसरेसे भिन्न हैं, परंतु सदा परस्पर मिले हुए- से प्रतीत होते हैं। जैसे मछली जलसे भिन्न है तो भी उससे सदा संयुक्त रहती है, उसी प्रकार बुद्धि और आत्मा परस्पर भिन्न होते हुए भी अभिन्न रहते हैं
pṛthagbhūtau prakṛtyā tu samprayuktau ca sarvadā | yathā matsyo 'dadhir anyaḥ syāt samprayukto bhavet tathā ||
Bhīṣma dijo: «Aunque distintos por su propia naturaleza, el intelecto (buddhi) y el Conocedor del Campo (kṣetrajña) siempre parecen estar unidos. Así como el pez es diferente del agua y, sin embargo, permanece constantemente asociado a ella, del mismo modo el intelecto y el Sí mismo, aunque diferentes, se muestran inseparablemente ligados».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches discernment between the Self (kṣetrajña, the conscious witness) and the intellect (buddhi, an instrument of prakṛti). They are inherently different, yet in lived experience they seem fused—like a fish constantly in water—so one must discriminate to understand the Self as distinct from mental functions.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhishma continues a philosophical explanation about the relation between consciousness and the inner instrument. He uses a simple analogy (fish and water) to clarify why the Self appears bound up with intellect despite being distinct.