Shloka 19

Keśava-tattva-kathana

On the Principle of Keśava: Cosmogony and Divine Epithets

Devanagari script

निश्चैष्टा भ्यां शरीरा भ्यां स्थिरदृष्टी समाहितौ । जितात्मानौ तथा5<धाय मूर्धन्यात्मानमेव च

Transliteration

niścēṣṭābhyāṁ śarīrābhyāṁ sthiradṛṣṭī samāhitau | jitātmānau tathā dhāya mūrdhany ātmānam eva ca ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : «Leurs corps devenus immobiles, le regard fixe et l’esprit rassemblé, ces deux-là — maîtres d’eux-mêmes — placèrent le souffle vital avec l’esprit au sommet de la tête, par le canal suṣumṇā. Puis ils demeurèrent absorbés en samādhi, et leurs corps parurent inertes, comme privés de tout mouvement.»

Word by Word

• निश्चेष्टाभ्याम्: with motionless (bodies)
• निश्चेष्टाभ्याम्: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निश्चेष्ट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Dual

• शरीराभ्याम्: with (their) two bodies
• शरीराभ्याम्: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Dual

• स्थिरदृष्टि: having steady gaze
• स्थिरदृष्टि: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्थिरदृष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• समाहितौ: collected, absorbed
• समाहितौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समाहित (कृदन्त, सम्-आ-धा)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• जितात्मानौ: self-controlled (having conquered the mind/self)
• जितात्मानौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जितात्मन् (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; जित + आत्मन्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• तथा: thus, in that manner
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• आधाय: having placed, having fixed
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-धा (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्)

• मूर्धनि: in the head/crown
• मूर्धनि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूर्धन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• आत्मानम्: the self (here: the vital self/breath-mind complex)
• आत्मानम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• एव: indeed, just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

Speaker

भीष्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• two ascetics/disciples (unnamed in this verse)
• suṣumṇā (subtle channel)
• mūrdhan (crown of the head)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights yogic discipline: mastery of mind and senses (jitātman), steady attention (sthiradṛṣṭi), and deep concentration (samāhita) culminating in samādhi. Ethically, it presents inner governance and restraint as a path to higher realization, contrasting outward action with inward conquest.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma describes two practitioners entering profound meditation. They channel prāṇa and mind through the suṣumṇā to the crown of the head and become absorbed in samādhi, so their bodies appear completely motionless, like inert matter.