Shloka 42
मनु-उपदेशः — भूत-उत्पत्ति, इन्द्रिय-निवृत्ति, तथा पर-स्वभाव-विवेकः
Manu’s Instruction on Elemental Origination, Sense-Withdrawal, and Discrimination of the Supreme Nature
इन्द्रियैस्तु प्रदीपार्थ कुरुते बुद्धिसप्तमै: । निर्विचेष्टेरजानद्धिः परमात्मा प्रदीपवत्
indriyaistu pradīpārthaṃ kurute buddhisaptamaiḥ | nirviceṣṭerajānaḍḍhiḥ paramātmā pradīpavat ||
Bhīṣma berkata: Sang Paramātman pada dirinya tak berbuat dan bukan “pengenal” seperti alat-alat indria; namun melalui perangkat tujuh serangkai—indria-indria beserta manas dan buddhi—Ia menjadikan indria laksana pelita penerang. Seperti pelita yang diletakkan di dalam tempayan menyebarkan cahayanya lewat lubang-lubang tempayan sehingga benda-benda dikenali, demikian pula Paramātman yang bersemayam dalam tubuh membuat segala sesuatu dialami dan dipahami melalui daya-daya yang selain itu bersifat tak-bergerak.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Consciousness (Paramātman) is the inner illuminator: the senses, mind, and intellect are inert instruments that function like openings for a lamp’s light. Knowing and experience occur because the Self ‘lights up’ these faculties, not because the faculties are independently conscious.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and liberation-oriented wisdom. Here he uses a vivid metaphor (lamp inside a pot) to explain how the inner Self enables cognition through the bodily instruments, supporting a teaching on the distinction between the Self and the psycho-physical apparatus.