Shloka 18
Yoga, Nārāyaṇa as Supreme Principle, and the Emanation of Categories
Sāṅkhya-Yoga Outline
जन्म वृद्धि: क्षयश्चास्य प्रत्यक्षेणोपलभ्यते । सा तु चान्द्रमसी वृत्ति्न तु तस्य शरीरिण:
janma vṛddhiḥ kṣayaś cāsya pratyakṣeṇopalabhyate | sā tu cāndramasī vṛttir na tu tasya śarīriṇaḥ ||
Kelahiran, pertumbuhan, dan kemerosotan memang tampak secara langsung; namun pasang-surut yang terlihat pada cakram bulan bukanlah perubahan pada bulan itu sendiri. Demikian pula, kelahiran dan seterusnya adalah milik tubuh, bukan milik Sang Diri yang berjasad.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Perceived change—birth, growth, and decay—belongs to the body and to appearances, not to the embodied Self (ātman). The verse uses the moon’s waxing and waning as an analogy: the visible phases are an appearance, not an intrinsic alteration of the moon itself.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and higher knowledge. Here he advances a contemplative point: do not mistake observable bodily change for change in the Self; ethical steadiness and detachment arise from discerning the difference.