Shloka 14
मनु-उपदेशः — भूत-उत्पत्ति, इन्द्रिय-निवृत्ति, तथा पर-स्वभाव-विवेकः
Manu’s Instruction on Elemental Origination, Sense-Withdrawal, and Discrimination of the Supreme Nature
ऊर्ध्व पादतलाभ्यां यदर्वाक्चोर्ध्व॑ च पश्यति । एतेन सर्वमेवेदं विद्धयभिव्याप्तमन्तरम्
ūrdhva-pāda-talābhyāṁ yad arvāk cordhvaṁ ca paśyati | etena sarvam evedaṁ viddhy abhivyāptam antaram ||
ビーシュマは言った。「足の裏より上、身体として成り立つものはすべて、証人たる意識によって、上下あらゆる方角から見守られている。ゆえに、よく知れ—この具身の『場』は、その内なる証人によって内外ことごとく遍満されているのだ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the distinction between the body (from the soles upward) and the inner witnessing consciousness that observes it in all directions. That witness is not confined to a single spot; it pervades the embodied field—inside and outside—so one should recognize the Self as all-pervading and not merely the body.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhīṣma continues his philosophical teaching, directing the listener toward inner discernment: identify the ‘seer’ (witness-consciousness) rather than the ‘seen’ (the body), as part of the broader counsel on attaining peace and mokṣa after the war.