Shloka 4
ध्यानयोगवर्णनम्
Description of the Path of Meditation
नश्यतीत्येव जानामि शान्तमग्निमनिन्धनम् | गतिर्यस्य प्रमाणं वा संस्थान वा न विद्यते
naśyatīty eva jānāmi śāntam agnim anindhanam | gatir yasya pramāṇaṃ vā saṃsthānaṃ vā na vidyate ||
Bharadvāja dit : «Je conclus qu’un feu éteint, privé de combustible, est tout simplement détruit. Car ce qui n’a ni mouvement discernable, ni grandeur mesurable, ni forme ou état que l’on puisse établir, doit être tenu pour périr. Telle est, en vérité, la condition de l’être vivant également.»
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bharadvāja argues from a perceptual-empirical standpoint: when something’s motion, measurable extent, and form are no longer apprehended—like a fuel-less extinguished fire—it is taken as destroyed; he applies this analogy to claim that the jīva too should be considered annihilated when its observable marks are absent.
In the Śānti Parva’s philosophical dialogue, Bharadvāja presents a reasoning-based position using the example of an extinguished fire to support the view that the living being ceases when its perceptible indicators cannot be found.