Shloka 18

Devanagari script

अव्यक्तस्येह विज्ञाने नास्ति तुल्यं निदर्शनम्‌ । यत्र नास्ति पदन्‍्यास: कस्तं विषयमाप्नुयात्‌,उस अव्यक्त ब्रह्मका बोध करानेके लिये इस संसारमें कोई योग्य दृष्टान्त नहीं है। जहाँ वाणीका व्यापार ही नहीं है, उस वस्तुको कौन वर्णनका विषय बना सकता है

Transliteration

avyaktasya iha vijñāne nāsti tulyaṃ nidarśanam | yatra nāsti padanyāsaḥ kas taṃ viṣayam āpnuyāt ||

Translation

ビーシュマは言った。「この世において“未顕現（アヴィヤクタ）”を理解しようとしても、それに比肩する譬えはない。言葉さえ足場を得られぬところで、誰がその実在を記述の対象とし得ようか。」

Word by Word

अव्यक्तस्यof the unmanifest

इहhere (in this world/context)

विज्ञानेin (the matter of) knowing/understanding

नnot

अस्तिthere is

तुल्यम्equal/comparable

निदर्शनम्example/illustration

यत्रwhere

नnot

अस्तिthere is

पदन्यासःplacing of words/utterance (verbal deployment)

कःwho

तम्that (it)

विषयम्object/subject-matter

आप्नुयात्could attain/reach/make (into)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

avyakta (the Unmanifest)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The Unmanifest reality cannot be adequately conveyed through examples or language; it is beyond the ordinary reach of conceptualization and verbal description, and is to be approached through direct realization rather than analogy.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhīṣma continues his philosophical teaching, emphasizing to the listener that the highest principle (the Unmanifest) lies beyond the domain of speech and illustrative comparison.