Shloka 14
जनक–पराशर संवादः — वर्ण-गोत्र-धर्मविचारः
Janaka–Parāśara: Varṇa, Gotra, and Dharma Inquiry
यदूर्ध्व पादतलयोरवाड़ मूर्थ्नश्व॒ पश्यसि । एतस्मिन्नेव कृत्स्नेयं वर्तते बुद्धिरन्तरे
yad ūrdhvaṃ pāda-talayor avāṅ mūrdhnaś ca paśyasi | etasminn eva kṛtsneyam vartate buddhir antare ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Quelle que soit la partie du corps que tu observes—depuis au-dessus des plantes des pieds jusqu’au sommet du crâne—dans toute cette charpente la faculté de compréhension (buddhi) opère, pénétrant l’être intérieur. L’enseignement montre la présence subtile de l’intelligence à travers la vie incarnée, guidant le discernement et la conduite.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That buddhi—the inner faculty of discernment—operates throughout the embodied person; it is not confined to a single spot but pervades the whole living frame, enabling judgment and ethical choice.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and inner principles; here he explains the pervasive functioning of buddhi within the body as part of a broader teaching on the self and right understanding.