Shanti Parva Adhyaya 353 Shloka 6 - Mahabharata | Lao | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 6

Adhyāya 353 — Kathā-prāmāṇya (Authority of Transmission) and the Brāhmaṇa’s Ascetic Resolve

Devanagari script

सम्पूर्ण विश्व ही उनका मस्तक, भुजा, पैर, नेत्र और नासिका है। वे स्वच्छन्द विचरनेवाले एकमात्र पुरुषोत्तम सम्पूर्ण क्षेत्रोंमें सुखपूर्वक विचरण करते हैं ।।

Transliteration

kṣetrāṇi hi śarīrāṇi bījaṃ cāpi śubhāśubham | tāni vetti sa yogātmā tataḥ kṣetrajña ucyate ||

Translation

ພີດສະມະກ່າວວ່າ: «ຮ່າງກາຍທັງຫຼາຍເອີ້ນວ່າ ‘ເຂດ’ (kṣetra) ແລະ ‘ເມັດພັນ’ ທີ່ໃຫ້ເກີດມັນ ແມ່ນຄັງແຫ່ງກຳດີແລະກຳຊົ່ວ. ຜູ້ໃດເປັນອາຕະມາແຫ່ງໂຍຄະ ຮູ້ແທ້ທັງເຂດ (ພາວະມີຮ່າງ) ແລະ ເມັດພັນເຫດ (ກຳ) ຂອງມັນ, ຜູ້ນັ້ນຈຶ່ງເອີ້ນວ່າ ‘ຜູ້ຮູ້ເຂດ’ (kṣetrajña)»។

Word by Word

क्षेत्राणिfields (of experience)

हिindeed/for

शरीराणिbodies

बीजम्seed/cause

चand

अपिalso/even

शुभाशुभम्good-and-bad (merit and demerit)

तानिthose (things)

वेत्तिknows

सःhe

योगात्माone whose nature is yoga; the yogic-souled

ततःtherefore/from that

क्षेत्रज्ञःknower of the field

उच्यतेis called

Speaker

पितामह उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma (Pitamaha)

Kshetra (field/body)

Kshetrajna (knower of the field)

Karma (shubha-ashubha)

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 body is a ‘field’ shaped by the ‘seed’ of past auspicious and inauspicious actions; one who knows both the embodied condition and its karmic causes is called the kṣetrajña, the true knower.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on dharma and higher knowledge; here he defines kṣetra (body) and kṣetrajña (knower) in a reflective, yoga-oriented teaching about moral causality and insight.