Shloka 22
Mokṣa–Saṃnyāsa–Tyāga–Guṇa-Vibhāga (Renunciation, Relinquishment, and the Three Guṇas) — Mahābhārata 6, Bhīṣma-parva
सम्बन्ध-- इस प्रकार प्रकृतिस्थ पुरुषके स्वरूपका वर्णन करनेके बाद अब जीवात्मा और परमात्माकी एकता करते हुए आत्माके गुणातीत स्वरूपका वर्णन करते हैं-- उपद्रष्टानुमन्ता च भर्ता भोक्ता महेश्वर: । परमात्मेति चाप्युक्तो देहेडस्मिन् पुरुष: पर:
upadraṣṭānumantā ca bhartā bhoktā maheśvaraḥ | paramātmeti cāpy ukto dehe 'smin puruṣaḥ paraḥ ||
Arjuna disse: Neste mesmo corpo há um Puruṣa mais elevado, chamado Paramātman, o Supremo Si. Ele é a Testemunha que observa, o Aprovador que concede o assentimento interior, o Sustentador que ampara e nutre, o Experienciador que prova os frutos da vida encarnada, e o Grande Senhor que governa até os poderes mais altos. Assim, o Si interior é dito Paramātman—além das qualidades mutáveis da natureza.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse identifies the indwelling Self as the Paramātman: the inner Witness and Lord who sustains and permits experience. Ethically, it supports acting with responsibility while cultivating detachment—recognizing that the true Self is untouched by the changing guṇas and their actions.
In the Bhīṣma Parva dialogue of Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna on the battlefield, Arjuna is being taught the distinction between body/nature and the conscious Self. Here the teaching intensifies by describing the inner Self as the supreme indweller—witnessing, sanctioning, sustaining, and ruling—so Arjuna can act in war without confusion about identity and moral agency.