Shloka 19
Yoga, Nārāyaṇa as Supreme Principle, and the Emanation of Categories
Sāṅkhya-Yoga Outline
उत्पत्तिवृद्धिवयसा यथा स इति गृहाते । चन्द्र एव त्वमावास्यां तथा भवति मूर्तिमान्
utpatti-vṛddhi-vayasā yathā sa iti gṛhyate | candra eva tvam amāvasyāṁ tathā bhavati mūrtimān ||
Bhishma bersabda: “Sebagaimana seseorang—meski melalui kelahiran, pertumbuhan, dan tahap-tahap usia yang silih berganti—tetap dipahami sebagai orang yang sama, demikian pula Bulan: walau lenyap pada malam bulan baru, ketika tampak kembali ia diterima sebagai Bulan yang itu juga. Begitu pula, ketika Sang Diri yang berjasad memasuki tubuh lain, hendaknya dipahami sebagai Diri yang sama yang berlanjut.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Continuity of identity despite change: just as a person is regarded as the same individual through different life-stages, and the Moon is regarded as the same Moon after disappearing at amāvasyā, so the self remains the same even when it takes another body.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and philosophical truths. Here he uses everyday analogies—human aging and the Moon’s reappearance—to clarify the doctrine of the enduring self across bodily change.