Shloka 19
Brāhmaṇa-māhātmya: Tārkṣya’s instruction on tapas, satya, and svadharma
Chapter 182
ज्ञान चैवात्र बुद्धिश्न मनश्न भरतर्षभ | तस्य भोगाधिकरणे करणानि निबोध मे,भरतश्रेष्ठ! ज्ञान, बुद्धि और मन--ये ही शरीरमें उसके करण समझो
jñānaṃ caivātra buddhiś ca manaś ca bharatarṣabha | tasya bhogādhikaraṇe karaṇāni nibodha me bharataśreṣṭha ||
The serpent said: “O bull among the Bharatas, know this: knowledge, intellect, and mind—these are indeed the inner instruments within the body. Understand from me, O best of the Bharatas, that they serve as the faculties by which the embodied being engages in experience and enjoyment.”
सर्प उवाच
Educational Q&A
That the embodied being’s engagement with experience (bhoga) depends on inner faculties—knowledge (jñāna), intellect (buddhi), and mind (manas)—which function as the primary instruments within the body.
A serpent, speaking as a teacher, addresses a Bharata prince and explains a philosophical point: the internal faculties of cognition and decision—jñāna, buddhi, and manas—are the operative instruments through which one undergoes and ‘enjoys’ experiences.