Shloka 16
Yoga, Nārāyaṇa as Supreme Principle, and the Emanation of Categories
Sāṅkhya-Yoga Outline
क्षीणकोशो ह्ुमावास्यां चन्द्रमा न प्रकाशते । तद्वन्मूर्तिविमुक्तोड्सौ शरीरी नोपलभ्यते,जैसे चन्द्रमा अमावास्याको अपने प्रकाश्य स्थानसे वियुक्त हो जानेके कारण दिखायी नहीं देता है, उसी प्रकार देहधारी आत्मा शरीरसे वियुक्त होनेपर दृष्टिगोचर नहीं होता है
bhīṣma uvāca | kṣīṇakośo hy amāvāsyāṃ candramā na prakāśate | tadvan mūrtivimukto 'sau śarīrī nopalabhyate ||
ビーシュマは言った。「新月の夜、光の輪が衰え、光明が現れぬとき、月は輝かない。これと同じく、身を帯びた自己は、身体から離れたのち、常の知覚には捉えられない。この教えは、『人』と呼ばれるものが感官の把握し得るものだけで尽きないことを示す。身体という依りどころが失われれば、自己は眼に映る対象ではない。ゆえに、見えぬことを無いことと取り違えてはならぬ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the Self is not an object of sensory perception. When the Self is separated from the body, it is not seen—just as the moon’s light is not manifest on the new-moon night—so absence from sight should not be confused with non-existence.
In the Shanti Parva instruction, Bhishma is explaining metaphysical and ethical understanding about the embodied being and death. He uses the familiar image of the moon at amavasya to clarify why the departed Self is not perceptible to ordinary observers.