Shloka 22
Mokṣa–Saṃnyāsa–Tyāga–Guṇa-Vibhāga (Renunciation, Relinquishment, and the Three Guṇas) — Mahābhārata 6, Bhīṣma-parva
सम्बन्ध-- इस प्रकार प्रकृतिस्थ पुरुषके स्वरूपका वर्णन करनेके बाद अब जीवात्मा और परमात्माकी एकता करते हुए आत्माके गुणातीत स्वरूपका वर्णन करते हैं-- उपद्रष्टानुमन्ता च भर्ता भोक्ता महेश्वर: । परमात्मेति चाप्युक्तो देहेडस्मिन् पुरुष: पर:
upadraṣṭānumantā ca bhartā bhoktā maheśvaraḥ | paramātmeti cāpy ukto dehe 'smin puruṣaḥ paraḥ ||
Arjuna berkata: Dalam tubuh ini sendiri ada Pribadi yang lebih tinggi, yang disebut Paramātman (Diri Tertinggi). Dialah Saksi yang memerhati, Yang Meluluskan yang memberi persetujuan batin, Yang Menanggung dan memelihara, Yang Mengalami yang mengecap buah kehidupan berjasad, dan Tuhan Yang Maha Agung yang memerintah bahkan kuasa-kuasa tertinggi. Maka Diri yang bersemayam ini disebut Paramātman—melampaui guṇa yang berubah-ubah dalam alam.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse identifies the indwelling Self as the Paramātman: the inner Witness and Lord who sustains and permits experience. Ethically, it supports acting with responsibility while cultivating detachment—recognizing that the true Self is untouched by the changing guṇas and their actions.
In the Bhīṣma Parva dialogue of Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna on the battlefield, Arjuna is being taught the distinction between body/nature and the conscious Self. Here the teaching intensifies by describing the inner Self as the supreme indweller—witnessing, sanctioning, sustaining, and ruling—so Arjuna can act in war without confusion about identity and moral agency.