Shloka 59
Āścarya-kathana: Brāhmaṇa–Nāga Dialogue on Sūrya (Vivasvat) and the ‘Second Sun’ Phenomenon
मनश्ष प्रथितं राजन पज्चेन्द्रियसमीरणम । एष लोकविधिर्धीमानेष लोकविसर्गकृत्,राजन! पाँचों इन्द्रियोंका प्रेरक जो विख्यात मन है, वह भी श्रीहरि ही हैं। ये बुद्धिमान् श्रीहरि ही सम्पूर्ण जगतके प्रेरक और स्रष्टा हैं
manaś ca prathitaṃ rājan pañcendriya-samīraṇam | eṣa loka-vidhir dhīmān eṣa loka-visarga-kṛt ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Wahai Raja, Mind yang termasyhur—penggerak lima indera—tiada lain melainkan Śrī Hari. Dialah semata-mata, Yang Maha Bijaksana, yang mengatur tertib dunia dan melahirkan penciptaan segala makhluk.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse identifies the Mind—the force that activates the five senses—as a manifestation of Śrī Hari, affirming that the same divine intelligence both sustains cosmic order (loka-vidhi) and generates creation (loka-visarga). Ethically, it encourages seeing agency and governance behind mental and sensory activity as rooted in a higher, regulating principle rather than mere impulse.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and higher knowledge, Vaiśampāyana continues teaching the king by describing the divine as immanent in inner faculties. He emphasizes that what appears as psychological function (mind directing senses) is, at a deeper level, the Lord’s power operating within the world.