Shloka 22

ध्यानयोगवर्णनम्

Description of the Path of Meditation

Devanagari script

आपोमयमिदं सर्वमापो मूर्ति: शरीरिणाम्‌ । तत्रात्मा मानसो ब्रह्मा सर्वभूतेषु लोककृत्‌

Transliteration

āpomayam idaṃ sarvam āpo mūrtiḥ śarīriṇām | tatrātmā mānaso brahmā sarvabhūteṣu lokakṛt ||

Translation

Bharadvāja dit : «Tout cet univers manifesté est pénétré d’eau ; et les corps des êtres incarnés sont eux‑mêmes une forme d’eau. Dans ce corps formé d’eau demeure le Soi, présent dans le manas (l’esprit). Ce principe même est connu parmi tous les êtres comme Brahmā, le faiseur des mondes, car l’agrégat collectif des êtres vivants est désigné du nom de “Brahmā”.»

Word by Word

• {'āpomaya': 'made of water

• constituted chiefly of the water-element', 'idaṃ sarvam': 'all this

• the entire manifested field of experience', 'āpaḥ': 'waters

• the water-element (one of the bhūtas)', 'mūrtiḥ': 'form

• concrete manifestation', 'śarīriṇām': 'of embodied beings

• of those who possess bodies', 'tatra': 'therein

• in that (body/constitution)', 'ātmā': 'Self

• inner conscious principle', 'mānasaḥ': 'mental

• abiding/operating in the mind', 'brahmā': 'Brahmā

• here also the cosmic principle identified with the aggregate of beings', 'sarvabhūteṣu': 'in all beings

• among all creatures', 'lokakṛt': 'world-maker

• creator/ordainer of the worlds', 'saṅghāta': 'aggregate

• composite mass (of beings)', 'jīva': 'living being

Speaker

भरद्वाज उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bharadvāja
• Āpaḥ (Water element)
• Ātman (Self)
• Brahmā

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse links cosmology and self-inquiry: the world and the body are described as predominantly ‘water-formed,’ yet within this elemental constitution the conscious Self abides, associated with the mind. That inner principle is identified with ‘Brahmā’ as the world-maker, emphasizing a vision where the cosmic creator is understood through the living totality (the aggregate of beings) and the indwelling Self rather than merely as an external deity.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, Bharadvāja is expounding a philosophical account of embodiment and creation. He explains the elemental basis of the body (water predominance) and then elevates the discussion to the indwelling Self, interpreting ‘Brahmā’ as the creative principle present across all beings and as a name for the collective living aggregate.