Shloka 10
Mind as Charioteer; Kṣetrajña, Tapas, and Dhyāna-Yoga
Adhyātma-Upadeśa
नित्यं द्वन्द्धसमायुक्तं सत्त्वमाहुर्मनीषिण: । निर्दचन्दो निष्कलो नित्य: क्षेत्रज्ञो निर्गुणात्मक:,मनीषी पुरुष सत्त्वको द्वन्धयुक्त कहते हैं और क्षेत्रज्ञ निर्दन्द्ध, निष्कल, नित्य और निर्मुणस्वरूप है
nityaṁ dvandva-samāyuktaṁ sattvam āhur manīṣiṇaḥ | nirdvandvo niṣkalo nityaḥ kṣetrajño nirguṇātmakaḥ ||
Vāyu-deva dit : «Les sages déclarent que la sattva de l’être incarné (sa disposition vivante) est sans cesse enlacée aux paires d’opposés : plaisir et douleur, gain et perte, louange et blâme. Mais le Connaisseur du Champ (kṣetrajña), témoin intérieur, est libre de ces dualités : sans parties, toujours demeurant, et d’une nature au-delà des guṇa. Ainsi, la constance éthique se trouve en reconnaissant le jeu changeant des opposés dans le mental, tout en demeurant dans le Soi non duel, intact.»
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes between the mind/embodied disposition that is continually caught in dualities (dvandvas) and the kṣetrajña—the inner witness—which is untouched by them, partless, eternal, and beyond the guṇas. Ethical steadiness comes from identifying with the witness rather than the fluctuating opposites.
Vāyu-deva is instructing the listener in a philosophical-ethical reflection: ordinary experience is marked by constant oscillation between opposites, but the true Self (kṣetrajña) remains unaffected. The teaching guides the hearer toward detachment and discernment.