Shloka 17
Adhyāya 214: Tapas Redefined—Perpetual Discipline, Hospitality, and the Ethics of Eating (तपः-निरूपणम्, विघसाशी-अतिथिप्रिय-धर्मः)
दश विद्याद् धमन्यो<त्र पज्चेन्द्रियगुणावहा: । याभि: सूक्ष्मा: प्रतायन्ते धमन्यो5न्या: सहस्रश:
daśa vidyād dhamanyo 'tra pañcendriyaguṇāvahāḥ | yābhiḥ sūkṣmāḥ pratāyante dhamanyo 'nyāḥ sahasraśaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : Dans ce corps, il faut savoir qu’il existe dix canaux principaux (dhamanī) qui portent les qualités des cinq sens—le son et les autres—rendant possible la saisie sensorielle. Avec eux, des milliers d’autres canaux subtils se déploient dans tout le corps. L’enseignement présente l’organisme humain comme un champ de fonctions ordonnées, où la compréhension disciplinée du corps soutient la maîtrise éthique de soi et la stabilité de l’esprit.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a structured view of the body: ten principal channels convey the sensory qualities, while innumerable subtle channels pervade the body. Such knowledge supports self-mastery—understanding how perception arises helps one regulate desire, restraint, and ethical conduct.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and allied disciplines. Here he shifts into an explanatory, quasi-physiological account of the body’s internal channels and their role in sensory experience, as part of a broader teaching on self-knowledge and control.