Shloka 15
ब्रह्मघोष-प्रवर्तनम्, अनध्याय-नियमः, वायु-मार्ग-वर्णनम्
Restoring Vedic Recitation, the Anadhyaya Rule, and the Taxonomy of Winds
अन्यो हाग्निरुखाप्यन्या नित्यमेवमवेहि भो: । न चोपलिप्यते सो5ग्निरुखासंस्पर्शनेन वै
anyo hāgnir ukhāpy anyā nityam evam avehi bhoḥ | na copalipyate so 'gnir ukhāsaṁsparśanena vai, rājan ||
याज्ञवल्क्य बोले—हे राजन्, अग्नि एक वस्तु है और मिट्टी की हाँड़ी दूसरी; इस भेद को नित्य जानो। उस हाँड़ी के स्पर्श मात्र से अग्नि लिप्त नहीं होती।
याज़्वल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches eternal discernment (bheda-buddhi): the pure principle (like fire) remains unaffected by mere association with an external container (like the clay pot). Ethically, it supports non-identification with the body and circumstances, encouraging inner purity and steadiness.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and wisdom, the sage Yājñavalkya addresses a king and uses a simple analogy—fire and an earthen pot—to explain how the essential Self is distinct from and untainted by the bodily or material ‘vessel’ it inhabits.