Shloka 24
ध्यानयोगवर्णनम्
Description of the Path of Meditation
आत्मानं तं विजानीहि सर्वलोकहितात्मकम् | तस्मिन् य: संश्रितो देहे हाब्बिन्दुरिव पुष्करे
ātmānaṃ taṃ vijānīhi sarvalokahitātmakam | tasmin yaḥ saṃśrito dehe haṃsabindur iva puṣkare ||
バラドヴァージャは言った。「その自己を知れ。万界の利益を本性とするものを。身体に依りて宿るように見えても、真実には身体から離れている。蓮の葉に宿る水滴のごとく。」
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The Self (Ātman) is intrinsically oriented to universal welfare and is not truly bound to the body; even while dwelling in it, it remains untouched and distinct, like a water drop that does not cling to a lotus leaf.
In a didactic passage of the Śānti Parva, Bharadvāja instructs the listener to recognize the nature of the Ātman, using the lotus-leaf metaphor to emphasize inner detachment and the Self’s separateness from bodily identity.