Shloka 3
ध्यानयोगवर्णनम्
Description of the Path of Meditation
भरद्वाज उवाच अग्नेर्यथा तथा तस्य यदि नाशो न विद्यते | इन्धनस्योपयोगान्ते स चाग्नि्नोपलभ्यते
bharadvāja uvāca | agner yathā tathā tasya yadi nāśo na vidyate | indhanasyopayogānte sa cāgnir nopalabhyate ||
ਭਰਦਵਾਜ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ—ਭਗਵਨ! ਜੇ ਅੱਗ ਵਾਂਗ ਜੀਵ ਦਾ ਨਾਸ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੁੰਦਾ, ਤਾਂ ਇੰਧਨ ਦਾ ਉਪਯੋਗ ਮੁੱਕਣ ਤੇ ਉਹੀ ਅੱਗ ਕਿਉਂ ਨਹੀਂ ਮਿਲਦੀ? ਇਸੇ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ, ਜੇ ਜੀਵ ਅਵਿਨਾਸ਼ੀ ਹੈ, ਤਾਂ ਸਰੀਰ-ਰੂਪੀ ਆਸਰਾ ਖਤਮ ਹੋਣ ਤੇ ਉਸ ਦੀ ਲਗਾਤਾਰ ਹਾਜ਼ਰੀ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਜਾਣੀ ਜਾਵੇ?
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.