Shloka 14
अध्याय २९७ — श्रेयः, धृति, दान-नियमाः
Welfare, Steadfastness, and Norms of Giving
शिरास्नाय्वस्थिसंघातं बीभत्सामेध्यसंकुलम् | भूतानामिन्द्रियाणां च गुणानां च समागमम्
śirāsnāyv-asthi-saṅghātaṃ bībhatsāmēdhya-saṅkulam | bhūtānām indriyāṇāṃ ca guṇānāṃ ca samāgamam ||
പരാശരൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഈ ദേഹം ശിരകൾ, സ്നായുക്കൾ, അസ്ഥികൾ എന്നിവയുടെ കൂട്ടമാണ്; അത് ഭീതിജനകവും അശുദ്ധിയാൽ നിറഞ്ഞതുമാണ്. ഇത് ഭൂതങ്ങൾ, ഇന്ദ്രിയങ്ങൾ, ഗുണങ്ങൾ എന്നിവയുടെ ഒരു സമാഗമം മാത്രമാണ്.
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse urges disidentification from the body by viewing it realistically as a composite of physical parts and impurities, and as a temporary assemblage of elements, senses, and guṇas. This supports vairāgya (detachment) and ethical clarity by weakening pride, lust, and possessiveness rooted in body-identification.
Parāśara is instructing his listener in a contemplative, renunciatory analysis of the body. By describing the body’s constituents and impurity, he frames it as not-self and not worthy of attachment, aligning with Śānti Parva’s broader teachings on liberation-oriented dharma.