Shloka 14
मनुरुवाच — इन्द्रिय-मनः-ज्ञान-क्रमः
Manu on the hierarchy of senses, mind, and knowledge
कुशोच्चयनिषण्ण: सन् कुशहस्त: कुशै: शिखी । कुशै: परिवृतस्तस्मिन् मध्ये छन्न: कुशैस्तथा
kuśoccayaniṣaṇṇaḥ san kuśahastaḥ kuśaiḥ śikhī | kuśaiḥ parivṛtas tasmin madhye channaḥ kuśais tathā ||
Bhīṣma dit : « Que le pratiquant s’assoie sur un siège fait d’herbe kuśa, tenant du kuśa dans la main, et que son toupet (śikhā) soit lié avec du kuśa. Qu’il s’assoie entouré de kuśa, et que l’espace central soit lui aussi recouvert de kuśa. »
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
External disciplines—such as sitting on a kuśa seat, holding kuśa, and arranging the śikhā with kuśa—are prescribed as supports for inner steadiness and purity, aiding progress on the nivṛtti (renunciatory) path.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma continues instructing on dharma and spiritual practice; here he gives a practical rule for a japa/meditative practitioner’s seating and ritual arrangement using kuśa grass.