Shloka 34

अव्यक्त–प्रकृति–इन्द्रियविचारः

The Unmanifest, Prakṛtis, and the Sense-Complex

Devanagari script

यथा समुद्रमभित: संश्रिता: सरितो5परा: । तथाद्या प्रकृतियोगाद्भिसंश्रियते सदा,जैसे बहुत-सी नदियाँ सब ओरसे आकर समुद्रमें मिल जाती हैं, उसी प्रकार योगसे वशमें किया हुआ मन सदाके लिये मूल प्रकृतिमें लीन हो जाता है

Transliteration

yathā samudram abhitaḥ saṁśritāḥ sarito 'parāḥ | tathādyā prakṛti-yogād bhi-saṁśriyate sadā ||

Translation

ดุจดังสายน้ำมากมายจากทุกทิศไหลมาบรรจบรวมลงสู่มหาสมุทร ฉันใด จิตที่ถูกฝึกให้สงบด้วยโยคะก็ฉันนั้น ย่อมพักนิ่งตลอดกาลในปรกฤติอันเป็นรากเดิม สูญสิ้นกระแสแยกตน

Word by Word

यथाjust as

समुद्रम्ocean

अभितःon all sides, around

संश्रिताःhaving resorted to, having reached

सरितःrivers

अपराःother, many (others)

तथाso, in the same way

आद्याःprimordial (ones)

प्रकृति-योगात्by/through the yoga of Prakriti (union with primordial nature)

अभिसंश्रियतेresorts to, merges into, takes refuge in

सदाalways

Speaker

पराशर उवाच

Characters & Entities

प

पराशर (Parāśara)

स

समुद्र (ocean)

स

सरित्/सरितः (rivers)

प

प्रकृति (prakṛti)

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 through yoga (disciplined inner practice), the mind’s restless movements can be mastered and made to dissolve into its source—here described as the primordial prakṛti—just as rivers lose their separate identity when they enter the ocean.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction on liberation-oriented dharma, the sage Parāśara is explaining contemplative doctrine using a natural simile: many rivers converging into the sea illustrates the yogin’s mind converging into the fundamental ground of existence.