Shloka 4
Jarā-Mṛtyu-anatikrama: Janaka–Pañcaśikha-saṃvāda
Aging and Death Cannot Be Overstepped
कर्मेन्द्रियाणां सर्वेषां विद्या बुद्धीन्द्रियं स्मृतम् । बुद्धीन्द्रियाणां च तथा विशेषा इति नः श्रुतम्,हमने सुन रखा है कि समस्त कर्मन्द्रियोंकी विद्या ज्ञानेन्द्रियाँ मानी गयी हैं। अर्थात् कर्मन्द्रियोंसे ज्ञानेन्द्रियाँ श्रेष्ठ हैं और ज्ञानेन्द्रियोंकी विद्या पज्चमहाभूत हैं
karmendriyāṇāṁ sarveṣāṁ vidyā buddhīndriyaṁ smṛtam | buddhīndriyāṇāṁ ca tathā viśeṣā iti naḥ śrutam |
Vasiṣṭha dit : « Nous avons entendu dire que, pour tous les organes d’action, le “savoir” qui les gouverne est l’organe de compréhension, c’est-à-dire les facultés cognitives. Et de même, nous avons entendu qu’au sein des facultés cognitives il existe encore des distinctions de supériorité. »
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a hierarchy: the organs of action are directed by a higher cognitive principle (buddhi/understanding), and even within cognition there are gradations—implying that ethical action depends on the governance of action by discernment, and discernment itself can be refined and ranked.
In the Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Vasiṣṭha is explaining a traditional framework about how human faculties relate—action is subordinate to cognition, and cognition has internal levels—setting up a broader teaching on self-mastery and right conduct.