Shloka 9

Devanagari script

केवलं पज्चविंशं च चतुर्विशं न पश्यति । बुध्यमानो यदा55त्मानमन्यो5हमिति मन्यते

Transliteration

kevalaṁ pañcaviṁśaṁ ca caturviṁśaṁ na paśyati | budhyamāno yadātmānam anyo 'ham iti manyate ||

Translation

വസിഷ്ഠൻ പറഞ്ഞു—മനുഷ്യൻ ബോധത്തിലേക്ക് ഉണരാൻ തുടങ്ങുമ്പോഴും, ഇരുപത്തിനാലും ഇരുപത്തിയഞ്ചും തത്ത്വങ്ങളെ യഥാർത്ഥമായി കാണുന്നില്ല; കാരണം ‘ഞാൻ ആത്മാവിൽ നിന്ന് വേറെയൊരു വ്യക്തി’ എന്നു കരുതുന്നു. അങ്ങനെ തെറ്റായ തിരിച്ചറിവ് ജനിച്ച് ധാർമ്മിക വ്യക്തത മങ്ങിപ്പോകുന്നു.

Word by Word

केवलम्only, merely

पञ्चविंशम्the twenty-fifth (principle/entity)

चand

चतुर्विंशम्the twenty-fourth (principle/entity)

नnot

पश्यतिsees

बुध्यमानःawakening, becoming aware

यदाwhen

आत्मानम्the self

अन्यःanother, different

अहम्I

इतिthus (quotative)

मन्यतेthinks, considers

Speaker

वसिष्ठ उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vasiṣṭha

Ātman

caturviṁśati-tattva (24 principles)

pañcaviṁśa-tattva (25th principle)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse warns that even when one begins to ‘wake up’ intellectually, one may still fail to discern the true distinction between the 24 principles (the psycho-physical field) and the 25th (the witnessing Self). The error is the thought “I am other,” i.e., misidentifying the Self as a separate ego-entity, which sustains ignorance and undermines right conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, Vasiṣṭha speaks as a teacher, using Sāṅkhya-style categories (24/25 tattvas) to diagnose a subtle confusion in seekers: partial awakening can still leave one trapped in dualistic self-notions, preventing direct insight into the Self.