Shloka 86
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
इन्द्रियाण्येव बुध्यन्ते स्वदेहे देहिनां नूप । कारणान्यात्मनस्तानि सूक्ष्म: पश्यति तैस्तु सः
indriyāṇy eva budhyante svadehe dehināṁ nūpa | kāraṇāny ātmanas tāni sūkṣmaḥ paśyati tais tu saḥ, nareśvara |
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô roi, ce sont les sens seuls, établis dans le corps propre à chaque être incarné, qui saisissent leurs objets respectifs. Ces mêmes sens deviennent les instruments qui suscitent les diverses connaissances du Soi ; car le Soi subtil ne “voit” et ne rend manifestes les objets extérieurs que par leur entremise, ô seigneur des hommes.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Perception and particularized knowledge arise through the senses; the subtle self does not directly grasp external objects without these instruments. This supports the ethical-spiritual point that mastery or withdrawal of the senses changes the field of experience, and in liberation the absence of sense-contact implies the absence of sense-born distinctions.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhīṣma continues teaching Yudhiṣṭhira about the nature of the embodied self. He explains how cognition in embodied life depends on the indriyas, framing the metaphysical basis for restraint, detachment, and the pursuit of mokṣa.