Shloka 12
मनु-उपदेशः — भूत-उत्पत्ति, इन्द्रिय-निवृत्ति, तथा पर-स्वभाव-विवेकः
Manu’s Instruction on Elemental Origination, Sense-Withdrawal, and Discrimination of the Supreme Nature
इन्द्रियाणि मनश्लैव विज्ञानान्यस्थ भारत । सप्तमी बुद्धिरित्याहु: क्षेत्रज्ञ: पुनरष्टम:
indriyāṇi manaś caiva vijñānāny aṣṭha bhārata | saptamī buddhir ity āhuḥ kṣetrajñaḥ punar aṣṭamaḥ ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Wahai Bhārata, fakulti-fakulti indera, minda, dan ragam-ragam kognisi dihitung menjadi lapan. Mereka mengatakan bahawa buddhi (akal budi yang menimbang dan memutuskan) ialah yang ketujuh, dan kṣetrajña—si ‘pengetahu medan’ (diri yang menyaksi)—pula ialah yang kelapan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma distinguishes inner faculties and the witnessing self: senses, mind, and cognition are enumerated, with buddhi as a key discriminative power, and beyond these functions stands the kṣetrajña—the conscious knower—implying ethical clarity arises from recognizing the difference between changing mental operations and the stable witness.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and liberation-oriented knowledge. Here he presents a classificatory teaching about the constituents of experience—senses, mind, cognition, intellect, and the knower—within a broader discourse on understanding the self and governing conduct through discernment.