Shloka 43
मनु-उपदेशः — भूत-उत्पत्ति, इन्द्रिय-निवृत्ति, तथा पर-स्वभाव-विवेकः
Manu’s Instruction on Elemental Origination, Sense-Withdrawal, and Discrimination of the Supreme Nature
सृजते हि गुणान् सच्चं क्षेत्रज्ञ: परिपश्यति । सम्प्रयोगस्तयोरेष सत्त्वक्षेत्रज्ञयोर्ध्रुव:,बुद्धि गुणोंकी सृष्टि करती है और आत्मा साक्षी बनकर देखता रहता है। उन बुद्धि और आत्माका यह संयोग अनादि है
sṛjate hi guṇān satyaṃ kṣetrajñaḥ paripaśyati | samprayogas tayor eṣa sattva-kṣetrajñayor dhruvaḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。諸グナの様態とその働きを生み出すのは、まさしく内なる器（サットヴァ／ブッディ）であり、田を知る者（クシェートラジュニャ、すなわち自己）は、澄みきった覚知をもってただ証人として見守るのみである。この二つ——証人たる自己と、様態を担う心——の結合は確固として無始であり、そこから「我が為す」という体験と、善悪の帰結が生起する。されど自己は、なお離著の見者としてとどまる。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The mind/intellect (sattva/buddhi) generates the guṇas and their operations, while the Self (kṣetrajña) remains a witnessing consciousness. Understanding this distinction supports ethical clarity: one should restrain and purify the inner instrument rather than misidentify the Self as the doer.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction, Bhīṣma explains a Sāṅkhya-style analysis to Yudhiṣṭhira: experience arises from the association of the witnessing Self with the guṇa-constituted inner instrument. This frames moral life as the management of guṇas while pursuing liberation through discernment.