Shloka 13
मनु-उपदेशः — भूत-उत्पत्ति, इन्द्रिय-निवृत्ति, तथा पर-स्वभाव-विवेकः
Manu’s Instruction on Elemental Origination, Sense-Withdrawal, and Discrimination of the Supreme Nature
भरतनन्दन! श्रोत्र आदि पाँच इन्द्रियाँ और मन--ये जीवात्माको विषयोंका ज्ञान करानेवाले हैं। शरीरमें इन छः के अतिरिक्त सातवीं बुद्धि और आठवाँ क्षेत्रज्ञ है ।।
bharatanandana! śrotrādīni pañcendriyāṇi ca manaś ca—etāni jīvātmanaḥ viṣayajñāna-kārakāṇi. śarīre etebhyaḥ ṣaḍbhyaḥ pṛthak saptamī buddhir aṣṭamaḥ kṣetrajñaś ca. cakṣur ālocanāyaiva saṃśayaṃ kurute manaḥ; buddhir adhyavasānāya; kṣetrajñaḥ sākṣivat sthitaḥ.
Bhishma disse: “Ó descendente de Bharata, os cinco sentidos, começando pela audição, juntamente com a mente, são os instrumentos pelos quais o eu individual (jīva) conhece os objetos. No corpo, além desses seis, há um sétimo, o intelecto (buddhi), e um oitavo, o Conhecedor do Campo (kṣetrajña), o Si mesmo. O olho serve para perceber; a mente levanta dúvida e alternativas; o intelecto firma a decisão; e o Conhecedor do Campo permanece como uma testemunha.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma distinguishes the functions of the senses, mind, intellect, and the kṣetrajña (Self): senses present objects, mind doubts and oscillates, intellect decides, while the Self remains a detached witness. Ethical steadiness comes from not mistaking the mind’s fluctuations for the Self.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhishma explains an inner psychology of cognition—how perception and decision arise—and points to the kṣetrajña as the witnessing consciousness, supporting Yudhiṣṭhira’s pursuit of dharma through self-understanding.