Shloka 18
Jvarotpatti — The Origin and Distribution of Jvara
Fever
चित्तमिन्द्रियसंघातं मनो बुद्धिस्तथाष्टमी । अष्टौ ज्ञानेन्द्रियाण्याहुरेतान्यध्यात्मचिन्तका:
cittam indriyasaṅghātaṁ mano buddhis tathāṣṭamī | aṣṭau jñānendriyāṇy āhur etāny adhyātmacintakāḥ ||
Asita dit : Ceux qui méditent la vérité du Soi déclarent que voici les « organes de la connaissance » : le citta (substrat mental), l’ensemble des sens, le manas (mental) et, comme huitième, le buddhi (intellect). Dans cet enseignement, les facultés intérieures sont comptées avec les sens, soulignant que la clarté éthique et la délivrance dépendent de la maîtrise des instruments de la cognition.
असित उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that true knowledge involves not only the external senses but also the inner instruments—citta, manas, and buddhi. Spiritual contemplatives classify these together as ‘organs of knowing,’ implying that liberation and ethical steadiness require disciplining and clarifying the inner faculties that interpret and judge experience.
In the Moksha-oriented discourse of the Śānti Parva, the sage Asita is explaining an adhyātma framework: he enumerates the cognitive instruments recognized by contemplatives. The discussion is doctrinal rather than event-driven, aiming to guide the listener toward self-understanding and inner restraint.