Shloka 5
Rāja-Vidyā Rāja-Guhya Yoga (राजविद्या राजगुह्य योग) — The Yoga of Royal Knowledge and Royal Secret
अपरेयमितत्त्वन्यां प्रकृतिं विद्धि मे पराम् । जीवभूतां महाबाहो ययेदं धार्यते जगत्,पृथिवी, जल, अग्नि, वायु, आकाश, मन, बुद्धि और अहंकार भी--इस प्रकार यह आठ प्रकारसे विभाजित मेरी प्रकृति है। यह आठ प्रकारके भेदोंवाली तो अपरार अर्थात् मेरी जड प्रकृति है और हे महाबाहो! इससे दूसरीको, जिससे यह सम्पूर्ण जगत् धारण किया जाता है, मेरी जीवरूपा परा अर्थात् चेतन प्रकृति जान
aparāyam itas tv anyāṁ prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām | jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat ||
This (eightfold) is My lower nature; but know, O mighty-armed one, that there is another nature of Mine, higher than this—living in essence—by which this entire world is sustained and held together. The teaching turns Arjuna’s attention from inert material constituents to the conscious principle that supports life and moral agency.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes two levels of nature: the lower, inert material basis and the higher, conscious life-principle (jīva) through which the world is sustained. It frames moral responsibility and spiritual inquiry by pointing beyond matter to the living, conscious dimension that enables agency.
In the Bhīṣma Parva’s teaching context, the speaker addresses Arjuna directly, shifting the discussion from the constituents of material existence to the higher principle of life that upholds the cosmos, preparing Arjuna to understand duty and action with a deeper metaphysical grounding.