Shloka 31

ध्यानयोगवर्णनम्

Description of the Path of Meditation

Devanagari script

मानसोडग्नि: शरीरेषु जीव इत्यभिधीयते । सृष्टि: प्रजापतेरेषा भूताध्यात्मविनिश्चये

Transliteration

mānaso 'gnīḥ śarīreṣu jīva ity abhidhīyate | sṛṣṭiḥ prajāpater eṣā bhūtādhyātma-viniścaye ||

Translation

Bharadvāja dit : «Dans les corps, le feu intérieur qui demeure dans l’esprit—lumineux comme une flamme—est appelé “jīva” (le soi vivant). De ce Prajāpati, compris comme le principe collectif de la vie, procède cette création. Cela est énoncé après un discernement assuré de la vérité du soi intérieur en relation avec les êtres».

Word by Word

• {'mānasaḥ': 'mental

• pertaining to the mind', 'agniḥ': 'fire

• here, the inner luminous principle', 'śarīreṣu': 'in (all) bodies', 'jīvaḥ': 'the living self

• vital conscious principle', 'iti': 'thus', 'abhidhīyate': 'is called

• is designated', 'sṛṣṭiḥ': 'creation

• emanation', 'prajāpateḥ': 'of Prajāpati (Lord of creatures

• progenitor principle)', 'eṣā': 'this', 'bhūta': 'beings

• created entities', 'adhyātma': 'pertaining to the inner self/spirit

• the domain of the self', 'viniścaya': 'ascertainment

• settled conclusion', 'bhūtādhyātma-viniścaye': 'in the ascertainment of (the relation between) beings and the inner self / in the settled doctrine of adhyātma regarding beings'}

Speaker

भरद्वाज उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bharadvāja
• Prajāpati
• jīva
• agni (inner fire)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse identifies the jīva as an inner, fire-like luminous consciousness associated with the mind within all bodies, and links cosmic creation to Prajāpati understood as the collective life-principle; it frames this as a conclusion reached through adhyātma (inner spiritual) discernment.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Bharadvāja is explaining a doctrine of the self and creation: he defines what is meant by ‘jīva’ in embodied beings and states that creation arises from Prajāpati, presenting it as a reasoned metaphysical conclusion.