Shloka 21

Yoga, Nārāyaṇa as Supreme Principle, and the Emanation of Categories

Sāṅkhya-Yoga Outline

Devanagari script

यथा चन्द्रार्कसंयुक्ते तमस्तदुपलभ्यते । तद्वच्छरीरसंयुक्त: शरीरीत्युपलभ्यते

Transliteration

yathā candrārkasaṁyukte tamas tad upalabhyate | tadvac charīrasaṁyuktaḥ śarīrīty upalabhyate

Translation

ภีษมะกล่าวว่า “ดุจความมืดจะถูกรับรู้ได้ก็เมื่อสัมพันธ์กับจันทร์และอาทิตย์ ฉันใด อาตมันก็ฉันนั้น—จะถูกรู้จักว่าเป็น ‘ผู้มีกาย’ ก็เมื่อประกอบอยู่กับกายฉันนั้น”

Word by Word

यथाjust as

चन्द्रार्कसंयुक्तेin that which is conjoined with the moon and sun

तमःdarkness

तत्that

उपलभ्यतेis perceived / is apprehended

तद्वत्likewise

शरीरसंयुक्तःconjoined with the body

शरीरीthe embodied one

इतिthus (as)

उपलभ्यतेis perceived / is apprehended

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

candra (moon)

arka (sun)

tamas (darkness)

śarīra (body)

śarīrī (embodied self)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that the notion of being an ‘embodied self’ (śarīrī) is contingent upon association with the body (śarīra). Identity-descriptions arise through conjunction and perception, not because the self’s essential nature is inherently bodily.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and higher understanding, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira using an analogy from natural perception (darkness in relation to moon and sun) to clarify how the self is conceptually grasped in relation to the body.