Shloka 31
सूक्ष्मभूत-भूतात्मविज्ञानम्
Knowing the subtle principle and the bhūtātman through yoga
भूमावसक्तं दिवि चाप्रमेयं हिरण्मयं यो5ण्डजमण्डमध्ये | पतत्त्रिणं पक्षिणमन्तरिक्षे यो वेद भोग्यात्मनि रश्मिदीप्त:
bhūmāvasaktaṃ divi cāprameyaṃ hiraṇmayaṃ yo ’ṇḍajamaṇḍamadhye | patattriṇaṃ pakṣiṇamantarikṣe yo veda bhogyātmani raśmidīptaḥ ||
Vyāsa dit : Celui qui connaît ce Soi rayonnant, d’or lumineux—demeurant sur la terre sans s’y attacher; établi dans l’étendue incommensurable telle un ciel; manifesté dans l’œuf cosmique et aussi assis dans le lotus du cœur au sein de l’être incarné, se mouvant comme un oiseau dans le ciel intérieur—un tel connaisseur resplendit, éclairé par les rayons brûlants de la connaissance.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches vairāgya (non-attachment) grounded in ātma-jñāna: the Self can be present in embodied life and the world yet remain untouched. Realizing the luminous inner Self—symbolized as a golden bird moving in the inner sky—one becomes ‘raśmi-dīpta’, radiant with the light of knowledge.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, Vyāsa describes the indwelling Self through a symbolic image (golden, winged, moving in the inner space). The focus is contemplative teaching rather than external action: it directs the listener to recognize the Self within the body and cosmos and thereby transcend bondage.