Shloka 14
ध्यानयोगवर्णनम्
Description of the Path of Meditation
यद्यजीवं शरीरं तु पजचभूतसमन्वितम् | शारीरे मानसे दुः:खे कस्तां वेदयते रुजम्
bharadvāja uvāca |
yady ajīvaṃ śarīraṃ tu pañcabhūtasamanvitam |
śārīre mānase duḥkhe kastāṃ vedayate rujam ||
Bharadvāja dit : « Si l’on suppose que ce corps—composé des cinq grands éléments—est dépourvu de jīva, alors, lorsque la douleur surgit dans le corps ou que la peine surgit dans l’esprit, qui donc éprouve réellement cette souffrance ? »
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a philosophical challenge: if the body is merely a five-element aggregate and has no living self, then subjective experience (pain, sorrow) cannot be accounted for. It points toward an experiencer distinct from inert matter—raising the need to explain consciousness and the locus of moral agency.
Bharadvāja poses a probing question in a doctrinal discussion typical of the Śānti Parva: he tests the claim that the body is lifeless matter by asking who, then, experiences bodily and mental suffering. The question invites the respondent to clarify the nature of jīva/ātman and its relation to body and mind.