Shloka 23

Bhūta-guṇa-saṃkhyāna

Enumeration of the Properties of the Elements and Cognitive Faculties

Devanagari script

यथा मत्स्योडद्धिरन्य: स्यात्‌ सम्प्रयुक्तो तथैव तौ । मशकोदुम्बरौ वापि सम्प्रयुक्तो यथा सह

Transliteration

yathā matsyo ’bdhir anyaḥ syāt samprayukto tathaiva tau | maśakodumbarau vāpi samprayukto yathā saha ||

Translation

Vyāsa disse: “Assim como um peixe e o oceano são de naturezas diferentes e, ainda assim, estão unidos por uma relação natural, assim também são esses dois. Ou ainda, como um mosquito e um udumbara (figueira ou seu fruto): embora totalmente distintos, quando se juntam permanecem ligados.”

Word by Word

यथाjust as

मत्स्यःa fish

उदधिःthe ocean

अन्यःdifferent, other

स्यात्would be / may be

सम्प्रयुक्तःjoined/associated

तथाso, likewise

एवindeed, just

तौthose two

मशकःa mosquito

उदुम्बरौtwo udumbara (fig) trees

वाor

अपिalso, even

सम्प्रयुक्तःjoined/associated

यथाas, just as

सहtogether, with

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

fish (matsya)

ocean/sea (abdhi/udadhि)

mosquito (maśaka)

udumbara (fig tree/fruit)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that association or linkage can exist even between fundamentally dissimilar beings; difference in nature does not prevent a real connection, whether by dependence, proximity, or circumstance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa illustrates a point through vivid comparisons—fish with the sea, and a mosquito with an udumbara—showing how ‘those two’ (previously mentioned in the discourse) are connected despite being unlike.