Shloka 15

नारद–शुक संवादः (Nārada–Śuka Dialogue): Tyāga, Saṃyama, and Vyakta–Avyakta Viveka

Devanagari script

मनस्तथैवाहंकारे प्रतिष्ठाप्प नराधिप । अहंकार तथा बुद्धौ बुद्धिं च प्रकृतावपि

Transliteration

manas tathaivāhaṅkāre pratiṣṭhāpya narādhipa | ahaṅkāras tathā buddhau buddhiṁ ca prakṛtāv api ||

Translation

ഹേ നരാധിപാ! മനസ്സിനെ അഹങ്കാരത്തിൽ സ്ഥാപിക്ക; അഹങ്കാരത്തെ ബുദ്ധിയിൽ, ബുദ്ധിയെ പ്രകൃതിയിലും സ്ഥാപിക്ക.

Word by Word

• मनः: mind
• मनः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तथा: thus/likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• अहंकारे: in egoism (ahaṅkāra)
• अहंकारे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहंकार
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• प्रतिष्ठाप्य: having established/placed
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति-स्था
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• नराधिप: O king (lord of men)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नराधिप
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• अहंकारम्: egoism (ahaṅkāra)
• अहंकारम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहंकार
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• तथा: likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• बुद्धौ: in intellect (buddhi)
• बुद्धौ: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बुद्धि
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• बुद्धिम्: intellect
• बुद्धिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: बुद्धि
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• प्रकृतौ: in Prakṛti (primordial nature)
• प्रकृतौ: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रकृति
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• अपि: also/even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

Speaker

याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yājñavalkya
• narādhipa (the king, addressee)
• manas
• ahaṅkāra
• buddhi
• prakṛti

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents a hierarchical mapping of inner faculties—mind (manas) grounded in ego-sense (ahaṅkāra), ego-sense in intellect (buddhi), and intellect in Prakṛti—so that one sees these as conditioned processes rather than the true Self, aiding detachment and liberation-oriented discernment.

What is happening in the narrative?

In a didactic dialogue within Śānti Parva, the sage Yājñavalkya instructs a king on contemplative analysis of the psyche, explaining how to ‘place’ each faculty into its subtler source as part of a philosophical teaching on the constituents of experience and the path to inner peace.