Shloka 20

अव्यक्त–व्यक्त–कारणकार्यविवेकः

Avyakta–Vyakta and Causality: Discrimination of Field and Knower

Devanagari script

नेन्द्रियर्मनस: सिद्धिर्न बुद्धि बुछाते मन: । न बुद्धिर्बुद्धाते5व्यक्तं सूक्ष्मं त्वेतानि पश्यति

Transliteration

nendriyair manasaḥ siddhir na buddhiḥ budhyate manaḥ | na buddhiḥ budhyate ’vyaktaṃ sūkṣmaṃ tv etāni paśyati ||

Translation

இந்திரியங்கள் மனத்தை அறியாது; மனம் புத்தியை அறியாது; புத்தி நுண்ணிய, அவ்யக்த ஆத்மாவை அறியாது. ஆனால் அந்த நுண்ணிய அவ்யக்த ஆத்மாவே சாட்சி—இவை அனைத்தையும் அது காண்கிறது, அறிகிறது.

Word by Word

• {'na': 'not', 'indriyaiḥ (indriya)': 'by the senses

• sense-faculties', 'manasaḥ (manas)': 'of the mind

• the mind', 'siddhiḥ': 'attainment

• successful apprehension/knowledge', 'buddhiḥ': 'intellect

• discriminative faculty', 'budhyate (√budh)': 'is understood/known

• apprehends', 'avyaktam': 'the unmanifest

• not perceptible', 'sūkṣmam': 'subtle

• extremely fine, beyond gross perception', 'tu': 'but

• however', 'etāni': 'these (senses, mind, intellect)', 'paśyati (√paś)': 'sees

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• indriya (senses)
• manas (mind)
• buddhi (intellect)
• avyakta ātman (unmanifest Self)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches a hierarchy of knowing: senses cannot grasp the mind, mind cannot grasp intellect, and intellect cannot grasp the subtle unmanifest Self; nevertheless the Self is the witnessing principle that illuminates and knows all mental and sensory operations.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and liberation-oriented wisdom. Here he explains an inner analysis of cognition to direct attention away from external faculties toward the witnessing Self as the basis of true knowledge.