Shloka 7

Vāc–Manas Saṃvāda: Prāṇa-Apāna and the Primacy Debate (वाक्–मनस् संवादः)

Devanagari script

सर्वमेवाथ विज्ञेयं चित्तं ज्ञानमवेक्षते | रेत:शरीरभृत्काये विज्ञाता तु शरीरभूृत्‌,जाननेमें आनेवाला यह सारा जगत्‌ चित्तरूप ही है, वह ज्ञानकी अर्थात्‌ प्रकाशककी अपेक्षा रखता है तथा वीर्यजनित शरीर-समुदायमें रहनेवाला शरीरधारी जीव उसको जाननेवाला है

Transliteration

sarvam evātha vijñeyaṁ cittaṁ jñānam avekṣate | retaḥ-śarīra-bhṛt-kāye vijñātā tu śarīra-bhṛt ||

Translation

బ్రాహ్మణుడు పలికెను—తెలుసుకొనవలసిన సమస్తమూ నిజానికి చిత్తస్వరూపమే; దాని ప్రకాశానికి జ్ఞానం—అనగా ప్రకాశకుడు—అవసరం. మరియు వీర్యమునుండి పుట్టిన శరీరసమూహంలో నివసించే దేహధారి జీవుడే దానిని తెలిసికొనువాడు.

Word by Word

• सर्वम्: all (this), the whole
• सर्वम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• एव: indeed, only
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• अथ: then, now
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• विज्ञेयम्: to be known, knowable
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-ज्ञा
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular, Gerundive (future passive participle), -य

• चित्तम्: mind, consciousness-stuff
• चित्तम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चित्त
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• ज्ञानम्: knowledge, cognition
• ज्ञानम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अवेक्षते: depends on, looks to, requires
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव-ईक्ष्
• Form: Present, 3rd, Singular, Ātmanepada

• रेतः-शरीर-भृत्-काये: in the body-aggregate borne by semen-born embodied beings
• रेतः-शरीर-भृत्-काये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रेतस् + शरीर + भृत् + काय
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• विज्ञाता: knower, cognizer
• विज्ञाता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वि-ज्ञा
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, Past active participle (agent noun sense)

• तु: but, indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• शरीर-भृत्: the embodied one, body-bearer (jīva)
• शरीर-भृत्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर + भृत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, Agent noun from √भृ (bear), 'bearer'

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• ब्राह्मण (Brāhmaṇa speaker)
• चित्त (mind)
• ज्ञान (knowledge)
• शरीरभृत् / जीव (embodied knower)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse distinguishes three factors in knowing: (1) the knowable world as it appears in/through mind (citta), (2) knowledge (jñāna) as the illuminator that makes cognition possible, and (3) the embodied self (śarīra-bhṛt, jīva) as the knower who apprehends experience while residing in a body.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Ashvamedhika Parva, a Brāhmaṇa speaker delivers a reflective, didactic discourse. Here he frames experience and cognition in philosophical terms—explaining how the world is grasped through mind, revealed by knowledge, and known by the embodied being.