Shloka 15
नारद–शुक संवादः (Nārada–Śuka Dialogue): Tyāga, Saṃyama, and Vyakta–Avyakta Viveka
मनस्तथैवाहंकारे प्रतिष्ठाप्प नराधिप । अहंकार तथा बुद्धौ बुद्धिं च प्रकृतावपि
manas tathaivāhaṅkāre pratiṣṭhāpya narādhipa | ahaṅkāras tathā buddhau buddhiṁ ca prakṛtāv api ||
Yājñavalkya berkata: “Wahai raja, dengan menegakkan minda dalam ahaṃkāra (rasa ‘aku’), menegakkan ahaṃkāra dalam buddhi (akal penentu), dan menegakkan buddhi pula dalam Prakṛti (Alam Asal), seseorang menjejaki kembali daya-daya batin kepada dasar yang lebih halus. Inilah susunan kontemplatif yang membuat manusia memahami bahawa kehidupan mental bergantung pada prinsip-prinsip yang lebih dalam, lalu melonggarkan keterikatan pada gerak-geri fikiran yang sentiasa berubah.”
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a hierarchical mapping of inner faculties—mind (manas) grounded in ego-sense (ahaṅkāra), ego-sense in intellect (buddhi), and intellect in Prakṛti—so that one sees these as conditioned processes rather than the true Self, aiding detachment and liberation-oriented discernment.
In a didactic dialogue within Śānti Parva, the sage Yājñavalkya instructs a king on contemplative analysis of the psyche, explaining how to ‘place’ each faculty into its subtler source as part of a philosophical teaching on the constituents of experience and the path to inner peace.