Shloka 8
Adhyāya 51: Kṛṣṇa’s Leave-Taking and Departure for Dvārakā (द्वारकागमनानुमति)
नदीपर्वतजालै श्व सर्वतः परिभूषितम् । विविधाभिस्तथा चाद्धिः सततं समलंकृतम्,यह जगत् एक ब्रह्मवन है। अव्यक्त प्रकृति इसका आदि है। पाँच महाभूत, दस इन्द्रियाँ और एक मन--इन सोलह विशेषोंतक इसका विस्तार है। यह चराचर प्राणियोंसे भरा हुआ है। सूर्य और चन्द्रमा आदिके प्रकाशसे प्रकाशित है। ग्रह और नक्षत्रोंसे सुशोभित है। नदियों और पर्वतोंके समूहसे सब ओर विभूषित है। नाना प्रकारके जलसे सदा ही अलंकृत है। यही सम्पूर्ण भूतोंका जीवन और सम्पूर्ण प्राणियोंकी गति है। इस ब्रह्मवनमें क्षेत्रज्ञ विचरण करता है
nadī-parvata-jālaiś ca sarvataḥ paribhūṣitam | vividhābhis tathā cādbhiḥ satataṃ samalaṅkṛtam || idaṃ jagad ekaṃ brahma-vanaṃ; avyaktā prakṛtir asyādiḥ | pañca mahābhūtāni daśendriyāṇi caikaṃ manaḥ—iti ṣoḍaśa-viśeṣair asya vistāraḥ | idaṃ carācara-prāṇibhiḥ paripūrṇam | sūrya-candra-prabhṛtibhiḥ prakāśaiḥ prakāśitam | graha-nakṣatraiḥ suśobhitam | nadī-parvata-saṅghaiḥ sarvataḥ vibhūṣitam | nānā-vidhair adbhiḥ satataṃ alaṅkṛtam | etad eva sarva-bhūtānāṃ jīvanaṃ sarva-prāṇināṃ ca gatiḥ | asmin brahma-vane kṣetrajñaś carati ||
Vāyu-deva said: “This whole world is a single forest of Brahman. Its beginning is unmanifest Nature. Its expanse unfolds through sixteen differentiating principles—five great elements, ten senses, and the one mind. It is filled with beings, moving and unmoving; illumined by the lights of the sun and moon; adorned with planets and constellations; beautified on every side by networks of rivers and ranges of mountains; and ever ornamented by waters of many kinds. This indeed is the life of all beings and the course of all creatures. In this forest of Brahman the Knower of the Field (kṣetrajña) wanders.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a Sāṅkhya-like vision: the cosmos is ‘Brahman’s forest,’ arising from unmanifest Prakṛti and unfolding through elements, senses, and mind, while the kṣetrajña (conscious knower) moves within it as the witnessing principle. Ethical force: cultivate discernment between Nature’s changing display and the steady knower, supporting detachment and right understanding.
Vāyu-deva is instructing the listener by describing the world’s structure and beauty—sun, moon, stars, rivers, mountains, waters—then reframing it philosophically as a field of experience in which the kṣetrajña dwells and ‘wanders,’ guiding the audience toward metaphysical insight rather than mere description.