Shloka 11
सूक्ष्मभूत-भूतात्मविज्ञानम्
Knowing the subtle principle and the bhūtātman through yoga
येन पूर्णमिवाकाशं भवत्येकेन सर्वदा | शून्यं येन जनाकीर्ण त॑ देवा ब्राह्मणं विदु:
yena pūrṇam ivākāśaṃ bhavaty ekena sarvadā | śūnyaṃ yena janākīrṇaṃ taṃ devā brāhmaṇaṃ viduḥ ||
Vyāsa dit : Celui qui, demeurant toujours dans sa nature toute-pénétrante, semble à lui seul remplir le ciel entier comme s’il était achevé ; et celui qui, parce qu’il est sans attache, tient pour vide même un lieu bondé d’hommes—les dieux le reconnaissent comme un véritable brāhmaṇa, connaisseur de Brahman.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
A true brāhmaṇa is defined not by birth or ritual but by realization and detachment: established in the all-pervading Self, he remains inwardly complete and untouched, seeing even crowded worldly life as empty of binding attachment.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, Vyāsa characterizes the marks of a Brahman-knower: one who abides alone in the universal Self and remains unentangled amid society, thereby earning recognition (even by the gods) as a true brāhmaṇa.