Shloka 4

Dharma-Pramāṇa-Vicāra: The Elusiveness of Dharma and the Limits of Rule-Lists

Devanagari script

तानि सूक्ष्माणि सत्त्वानि विमुक्तानि शरीरत: । स्वेन सत्त्वेन सत्त्वज्ञा: पश्यन्ति नियतेन्द्रिया:,शरीरके तत्त्वको जाननेवाले जितेन्द्रिय योगीजन उन स्थूलशरीरोंसे निकले हुए सूक्ष्म लिंगशरीरोंसे युक्त जीवोंको अपने आत्माके द्वारा देखते हैं

Transliteration

tāni sūkṣmāṇi sattvāni vimuktāni śarīrataḥ | svena sattvena sattvajñāḥ paśyanti niyatendriyāḥ ||

Translation

Makhluk-makhluk halus itu, yang telah terlepas daripada tubuh kasar, disaksikan oleh para resi yang menguasai indera dan mengetahui prinsip-prinsip kewujudan berjasad. Dengan kesedaran mereka yang disucikan, mereka melihat diri-diri hidup yang masih terhubung dengan tubuh halus (liṅga-śarīra) setelah meninggalkan rangka jasmani.

Word by Word

तानिthose

सूक्ष्माणिsubtle

सत्त्वानिbeings / living entities

विमुक्तानिreleased, freed

शरीरतःfrom the body

स्वेनby/with one’s own

सत्त्वेनby (their) being/essence

सत्त्वज्ञाःknowers of beings/essence

पश्यन्तिsee

नियत-इन्द्रियाःself-controlled (with restrained senses)

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

sūkṣma-sattvāni (subtle beings/jīvas)

śarīra (body)

niyatendriyāḥ (self-controlled sages/yogins)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Ordinary perception cannot grasp the jīva after it leaves the gross body; only those with disciplined senses and refined inner clarity (sattva) can perceive the subtle, post-mortem continuity of the living self associated with the subtle body.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa explains to the listener that when beings depart the physical body, they continue in a subtle form; yogins who have mastered the senses and understand the principles of embodied life can directly perceive this subtle state through their purified consciousness.