Shloka 5
भूगुरुवाच समिधामुपयोगान्ते यथाग्निर्नोपलभ्यते । आकाशानुगतत्वद्धि दुर्ग्राह्मो हि निराश्रय:
bhṛgur uvāca samidhām upayogānte yathāgnir nopalabhyate | ākāśānugatatvād dhi durgrāhyo hi nirāśrayaḥ ||
भृगु म्हणाले—मुने! जसे समिधांचा उपयोग संपून त्या जळून गेल्यावर अग्नीचा नाश होत नाही, पण तो आकाशात अव्यक्तरूपाने स्थित होतो म्हणून दिसत नाही; कारण आधार नसलेला अग्नी ग्रहण करणे अत्यंत कठीण आहे.
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the metaphor of fire disappearing when fuel is consumed to teach that a subtle principle can become unperceivable without being destroyed. When it lacks an external support (āśraya), it is difficult to apprehend—pointing toward the unmanifest nature of subtle reality (often applied to the Self or subtle elements).
In a didactic exchange among sages, Bhṛgu explains a philosophical point through an everyday example: after the kindling is burnt up, fire is not seen, not because it is annihilated, but because it has become unmanifest in space and cannot be grasped without a supporting medium.