Shloka 18
ध्यानयोगवर्णनम्
Description of the Path of Meditation
हृष्यति क्रुद्धयते कोअत्र शोचत्युद्धिजते च कः । इच्छति ध्यायति द्वेष्टि वाचमीरयते च कः
hṛṣyati kruddhyate ko 'tra śocaty udvijate ca kaḥ | icchati dhyāyati dveṣṭi vācam īrayate ca kaḥ ||
Maka timbul pertanyaan: di dalam tubuh ini, siapa yang bersukacita dan siapa yang murka? Siapa yang berduka dan siapa yang gelisah? Siapa yang mengingini, siapa yang merenung, siapa yang membenci, dan siapa yang menggerakkan ujaran?
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a classic inquiry into agency: emotions (joy, anger, grief, agitation), mental functions (desire, contemplation, aversion), and speech appear to occur in a person, but the question is who truly performs them—body, senses, mind, or the inner Self. This sets up a discriminative teaching aimed at loosening identification with mental states and locating the real ‘knower’ beyond them.
In the Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Bharadvāja speaks as a questioner, pressing for clarity about the inner mechanism of experience. His pointed series of questions initiates a discussion on the constituents of the person and the distinction between the experiencing Self and the instruments of experience (mind, senses, speech).