Shloka 5

Śarīrin, Buddhi, and the Limits of Sense-Perception (इन्द्रियबुद्धिशरीरिविचारः)

Devanagari script

तत्र ध्यानेन संश्लिष्टमेकाग्रं धारयेन्मन: । पिण्डीकृत्येन्द्रियग्राममासीन: काष्ठवन्मुनि:

Transliteration

tatra dhyānena saṁśliṣṭam ekāgraṁ dhārayen manaḥ | piṇḍīkṛtyendriyagrāmam āsīnaḥ kāṣṭhavan muniḥ ||

Translation

その場において、心を禅定に結び、堅く保って一境に専注すべきである。諸根の群れをひとつの制御に収めたなら、牟尼は木片のごとく微動だにせず坐し、心を観想に据えるのである。

Word by Word

• तत्र: there; in that (state/place)
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र

• ध्यानेन: by meditation
• ध्यानेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्यान
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• संश्लिष्टम्: joined/connected (with)
• संश्लिष्टम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सं-श्लिष्
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• एकाग्रम्: one-pointed; concentrated
• एकाग्रम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकाग्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• धारयेत्: should hold/maintain
• Type: Verb
• Root: धृ
• Form: Vidhi-lin (optative), Present-system, 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• मनः: the mind
• मनः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• पिण्डीकृत्य: having compacted/collected (together)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पिण्डी-कृ
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund)

• इन्द्रियग्रामम्: the group/aggregate of senses
• इन्द्रियग्रामम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्रियग्राम
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• आसीनः: seated
• आसीनः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आस्
• Form: क्त (past participle used adjectivally), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• काष्ठवत्: like a log of wood; motionless
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: काष्ठवत्

• मुनिः: the sage
• मुनिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• muni (sage)
• mind (manas)
• senses (indriyas)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches meditative discipline: choose the proper inner condition, restrain and gather the senses, sit perfectly still, and sustain a one-pointed mind absorbed in contemplation. Ethical force lies in self-mastery—freedom from sensory scattering is presented as the foundation for higher insight.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, instructing on dharma and the means to peace, gives practical guidance for a seeker of meditation-yoga: how to seat oneself, withdraw the senses, and stabilize the mind so that contemplation of the Supreme (as implied by the surrounding passage) becomes possible.