Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 14
अव्यक्त-मानस-सृष्टिवादः
Doctrine of Creation from the Unmanifest ‘Mānasa’
(अहमेको न मे कक्षरिन्नाहमन्यस्य कस्यचित् । न तं पश्यामि यस्याहं तं न पश्यामि यो मम ।।
aham eko na me kaścid nāham anyasya kasyacit | na taṃ paśyāmi yasyāhaṃ taṃ na paśyāmi yo mama || ātmāpi cāyaṃ na mama sarvā vā pṛthivī mama | yathā mama tathā anyeṣām iti cintya na me vyathā | etāṃ buddhim ahaṃ prāpya na praharṣe na ca vyathe ||
Le brahmane dit : «Je suis seul. Nul n’est véritablement à moi, et je n’appartiens à personne. Je ne vois pas celui dont on pourrait dire que je suis à lui, et je ne vois personne que je puisse appeler mien. Même ce soi n’est pas “mien”, et la terre entière n’est pas à moi. Réfléchissant que ce qui vaut pour moi vaut de même pour autrui, je ne ressens aucune angoisse. Ayant atteint cette compréhension, je ne m’exalte ni ne m’afflige.»
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches non-possessiveness and equanimity: the sense of “mine” and “I belong to someone” is ultimately unfounded. By reflecting that one’s condition is shared by all beings, one becomes free from both grief and excessive joy.
In the Shanti Parva’s didactic setting, a Brahmin speaker articulates a renunciant insight to calm the mind: rejecting claims of ownership over persons, self, or even the earth, he presents a mental discipline that leads to freedom from emotional agitation.