Shloka 17
ध्यानयोगवर्णनम्
Description of the Path of Meditation
न पश्यति न चाप्राति न शूणोति न भाषते । न च स्पर्शरसौ वेत्ति निद्रावशगत: पुनः
bharadvāja uvāca | na paśyati na cāprāti na śṛṇoti na bhāṣate | na ca sparśarasau vetti nidrāvaśagataḥ punaḥ ||
Bharadvāja dit : Quand le sommeil s’empare d’un homme, bien que tous les sens soient présents, il ne voit ni ne sent, n’entend ni ne parle ; et il ne saisit même pas le toucher ni le goût.
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Perception and experience do not arise from the mere presence of sense-organs; they depend on an active, connected consciousness. Sleep illustrates that when awareness is withdrawn, sensory functions become ineffective, pointing to the primacy of mind/awareness in ethical agency and knowledge.
In a didactic exchange within Śānti Parva, the sage Bharadvāja uses the familiar example of sleep to argue about the relationship between the senses and inner awareness—showing that the self’s cognitive connection is what enables seeing, hearing, speaking, and tasting.