Shloka 18
तिछेत् कथमिति ब्रूहि न किंचिद्धि तदा भवेत् । अहड्कार इति प्रोक्त: सर्वतेजोगत: प्रभु:
tichyet katham iti brūhi na kiñcid dhi tadā bhavet | ahaṅkāra iti proktaḥ sarva-tejo-gataḥ prabhuḥ |
Arjuna berkata: “Jika ada yang bertanya, ‘Bagaimanakah (dan bersandar pada apa) Brahmā muncul daripada ruang? Katakanlah; kerana pada waktu itu tiada apa-apa lagi sebagai asas,’ maka jawapannya begini: Brahmā di situ dihuraikan sebagai ‘Ahaṅkāra’ (prinsip rasa ‘aku’), kuasa berdaulat yang meresapi segala bentuk cahaya dan tenaga, cukup berkeupayaan pada dirinya sendiri.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a cosmological doubt—if Brahmā emerges from space, what supports him when nothing else exists? The answer identifies the ‘support’ not as a physical substrate but as a metaphysical principle: ahaṅkāra, the cosmic ‘I’-sense that pervades all tejas (energies) and functions as an autonomous, competent power in creation.
Arjuna raises (or voices) a philosophical objection about the origin and grounding of Brahmā at the beginning of creation. The response (summarized in the accompanying Hindi gloss) explains that Brahmā is to be understood as ahaṅkāra—an all-pervading, potent principle—thereby resolving the question of ‘where he stands’ when no other basis exists.