Shloka 4
ध्यानयोगवर्णनम्
Description of the Path of Meditation
नश्यतीत्येव जानामि शान्तमग्निमनिन्धनम् | गतिर्यस्य प्रमाणं वा संस्थान वा न विद्यते
naśyatīty eva jānāmi śāntam agnim anindhanam | gatir yasya pramāṇaṃ vā saṃsthānaṃ vā na vidyate ||
Bharadvāja berkata: “Aku menyimpulkan bahwa api yang telah padam tanpa bahan bakar benar-benar musnah. Sebab sesuatu yang tak memiliki gerak yang dapat dikenali, tak memiliki ukuran yang dapat ditetapkan, dan tak memiliki keadaan atau bentuk yang dapat dipastikan, harus dianggap telah lenyap. Demikian pula keadaan jīva.”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bharadvāja argues from a perceptual-empirical standpoint: when something’s motion, measurable extent, and form are no longer apprehended—like a fuel-less extinguished fire—it is taken as destroyed; he applies this analogy to claim that the jīva too should be considered annihilated when its observable marks are absent.
In the Śānti Parva’s philosophical dialogue, Bharadvāja presents a reasoning-based position using the example of an extinguished fire to support the view that the living being ceases when its perceptible indicators cannot be found.