Shloka 3
ध्यानयोगवर्णनम्
Description of the Path of Meditation
भरद्वाज उवाच अग्नेर्यथा तथा तस्य यदि नाशो न विद्यते | इन्धनस्योपयोगान्ते स चाग्नि्नोपलभ्यते,भरद्वाजने पूछा--भगवन्! यदि अग्निके समान जीवका नाश नहीं होता तो ईंधनके जल जानेपर वह भी तो बुझ ही जाती है; फिर उसकी तो उपलब्धि नहीं होती है
bharadvāja uvāca | agner yathā tathā tasya yadi nāśo na vidyate | indhanasyopayogānte sa cāgnir nopalabhyate ||
Bharadvāja berkata: “Jika, seperti api, jīva benar-benar tidak binasa, mengapa apabila bahan bakar telah habis digunakan dan tujuannya selesai, api itu sendiri tidak lagi kelihatan? Demikian juga, jika makhluk hidup dikatakan tidak dapat dimusnahkan, bagaimanakah kelangsungan kewujudannya diketahui apabila segala sandaran tubuh telah habis?”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an epistemic challenge: even if something is said to be imperishable (like fire as a principle), it may become unperceived when its supporting conditions (fuel) are exhausted. Bharadvāja presses the teacher to explain how the self’s non-destruction can be reconciled with the apparent disappearance at death—distinguishing reality from mere perceptibility.
In a philosophical dialogue in Śānti Parva, Bharadvāja raises a doubt using the example of fire: when fuel is consumed, fire is no longer seen. He asks how, by analogy, one can claim the jīva/ātman does not perish if it is not apprehended once the body’s sustaining factors end.