Shloka 24
Doṣa-Parīkṣā and Guṇa-Viveka
Examination of Faults and Discernment of the Guṇas
पुरुष: प्रकृतिर्बुद्धि्विषयाश्रेन्द्रियाणि च । अहंकारो5भिमानश्व समूहो भूतसंज्ञक:
puruṣaḥ prakṛtir buddhir viṣayāś cendriyāṇi ca | ahaṅkāro ’bhimānaś ca samūho bhūtasaṃjñakaḥ ||
Disse Bhīṣma: O ser vivo é dito um composto de vinte e cinco princípios—o espírito (puruṣa), a natureza (prakṛti), o intelecto (buddhi), os cinco objetos dos sentidos, as dez faculdades sensoriais, a egoidade (ahaṅkāra) e o agregado de elementos conhecido como os grandes seres (mahābhūta). Ao discernir essa constituição, aprende-se a ver o si mesmo para além das meras identificações corporais e mentais, o que sustenta firmeza, autocontrole e reta conduta.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines the ‘living being’ as an aggregate of twenty-five Sāṅkhya principles—consciousness (puruṣa) plus the evolutes of nature (prakṛti): intellect, egoity/identification, the sense-objects, the sense-faculties, and the elemental aggregate. The ethical implication is that recognizing these as components helps one dis-identify from them and act with steadiness and restraint.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and liberation-oriented wisdom. Here he shifts into a Sāṅkhya-style analysis, enumerating the constituents of embodied existence to support discernment (viveka) and inner peace after the war.