Shloka 13
अव्यक्त–व्यक्त–कारणकार्यविवेकः
Avyakta–Vyakta and Causality: Discrimination of Field and Knower
उद्यन् हि सविता यद्वत्सृजते रश्मिमण्डलम् | स एवास्तमपागच्छंस्तदेवात्मनि यच्छति
udyan hi savitā yadvat sṛjate raśmimaṇḍalam | sa evāstam apāgacchaṃs tadevātmany yacchati ||
Bhīṣma dit : «De même que le Soleil, en se levant, déploie en tous sens le cercle de ses rayons, et, en se couchant, ramène ces mêmes rayons en lui, ainsi l’âme incarnée, entrant dans un corps, s’étend au-dehors par les activités des sens, pareilles à des rayons, pour saisir les cinq objets sensibles ; et lorsqu’elle quitte le corps, elle rassemble ces activités au-dedans et les emporte avec elle.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that sense-activity is an outward extension of the embodied self, and that mastery lies in the ability to withdraw and gather the senses back within—like the sun retracting its rays—especially at the time of departure from the body.
In the Śānti Parva instruction, Bhīṣma explains to the listener a philosophical analogy: the sun’s daily emission and withdrawal of rays illustrates how the jīva engages the world through the senses and later retracts those faculties when leaving the body.