Shloka 85

Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)

Devanagari script

अत्रापि तत्त्वं परमं शृणु सम्यड मयेरितम्‌ । बुद्धिश्च॒ परमा यत्र कापिलानां महात्मनाम्‌

Transliteration

atrāpi tattvaṁ paramaṁ śṛṇu samyag mayeritām | buddhiś ca paramā yatra kāpilānāṁ mahātmanām ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : «Ici encore, écoute attentivement tandis que j’énonce la vérité suprême. En cette matière, j’exposerai le discernement le plus élevé, soutenu par les âmes magnanimes qui suivent Kapila : une compréhension qui éclaire le réel et guide la conduite juste.»

Word by Word

• {'atra api': 'here also

• in this context too', 'tattvam': 'truth

• reality as it is', 'paramam': 'supreme

• highest', 'śṛṇu': 'listen (imperative)', 'samyak': 'properly

• thoroughly', 'mayā īritam (mayeritam)': 'spoken/declared by me', 'buddhiḥ': 'intellect

• decisive understanding', 'paramā': 'supreme

• excellent', 'yatra': 'wherein

• in which (doctrine/context)', 'kāpilānām': 'of Kapila’s (followers)

• pertaining to Kapila/Sāṅkhya', 'mahātmanām': 'of great-souled ones

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Kapila
• Kapila’s followers (Sankhya adherents)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma introduces the ‘highest truth’ (parama-tattva) and the ‘supreme discernment’ (paramā buddhi) associated with Kapila’s Sāṅkhya tradition, signaling a shift toward philosophical clarification of reality as a basis for right living and liberation-oriented ethics.

What is happening in the narrative?

Within the Shanti Parva’s instruction to the king, Bhishma continues his discourse and announces that he will now present a refined doctrinal viewpoint—specifically the elevated understanding attributed to the great sages aligned with Kapila—preparing the listener for a systematic philosophical exposition.