Shloka 18
धर्मसूक्ष्मे त्यागप्रधान्यविचारः
Subtle Dharma and the Primacy of Renunciation
अथैकान्तव्युदासेन शरीरे पाज्चभौतिके । इच्छाद्वेषसमासक्तमात्मान प्राहुरिज्ञितैः
athaikāntavyudāsena śarīre pañcabhūtike | icchādveṣasamāsaktam ātmānaṃ prāhur ajñitaiḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira dit : «Puis, ayant renoncé à l’état de solitude intérieure (le retrait unifié), dans ce corps composé des cinq éléments, certains—par ignorance—décrivent le Soi comme enlacé dans l’attachement au désir et à l’aversion, inférant sa condition à partir de divers signes extérieurs.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts true inward steadiness (ekānta) with ignorance that mistakes the self for a psyche bound to desire and aversion. It implies that reading the ātman’s nature merely from bodily or behavioral ‘signs’ leads to misidentification of the self with elemental embodiment and fluctuating likes/dislikes.
In Śānti Parva’s reflective discourse, Yudhiṣṭhira raises a philosophical point: people who give up inner withdrawal and focus on the five-element body interpret the self as desire–aversion-bound, based on external indicators. This frames a discussion on correct discernment of the self versus mistaken, body-centered inference.