Shloka 20
Adhyāya 241: Guṇa-sṛṣṭi, Kṣetrajña-sākṣitva, and Śama through Ātma-jñāna (गुणसृष्टिः, क्षेत्रज्ञसाक्षित्वं, शमः)
सचेतनं जीवगुणं वदन्ति स चेष्टते जीवयते च सर्वम् | ततः पर क्षेत्रविदो वदन्ति प्राकल्पयद् यो भुवनानि सप्त
sacetanaṁ jīvaguṇaṁ vadanti sa ceṣṭate jīvayate ca sarvam | tataḥ para kṣetravido vadanti prākalpayad yo bhuvanāni sapta ||
Bhīṣma dit : On dit du corps qu’il est « doté de conscience » parce qu’il est associé aux qualités du jīvātman. C’est le jīvātman qui agit au moyen du corps et qui confère vie et perception à l’ensemble de l’organisme. Mais les connaisseurs du Champ déclarent supérieur à ce jīvātman le Paramātman—Celui qui, au commencement, façonna les sept mondes.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes three levels: the body (inert by itself), the jīva (which animates and acts through the body), and the Paramātman (the supreme creator), whom the wise regard as higher than the jīva.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on liberation and right understanding, Bhishma teaches Yudhishthira a hierarchy of principles—body, individual self, and Supreme Self—urging discernment between the field (body) and the knower(s) of the field.