Shloka 14
Varāha-avatāra: Viṣṇu’s subterranean intervention and the cosmic nāda (Śānti-parva 202)
यथात्मनो>ऊूुं पतितं पृथिव्यां स्वप्रान्तरे पश्यति चात्मनो<न्यत् | श्रोत्रादियुक्त: सुमना: सुबुद्धि- लिंज्ात्तथा गच्छति लिड्रमन्यत्
yathātmanaḥ patitaṃ pṛthivyāṃ svapnāntare paśyati cātmano 'nyat | śrotrādiyuktaḥ sumanāḥ subuddhir liṅgāt tathā gacchati liṅgam anyat ||
Bhīṣma dit : «De même que, dans un rêve, un homme voit un membre tranché de son propre corps gisant à terre comme une chose séparée de lui, de même l’homme au cœur bien disposé et à l’esprit limpide—pourvu des facultés à commencer par l’ouïe—doit comprendre que le corps est distinct du Soi. Faute de le savoir, on ne cesse de passer d’un état incarné à un autre.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches discernment between the self (ātman) and the body: the body can be seen as ‘other’ to the self, like a dream-image of one’s own limb lying apart. Without this discriminative knowledge, one remains bound to transmigration (moving from one embodiment to another).
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and liberation-oriented wisdom. Here he uses a dream analogy to explain how a disciplined, discerning person should regard the body as separate from the self, contrasting this with the ignorance that perpetuates rebirth.