Shloka 22

Brahma-vidyā: Satya–Tapas and the Enumeration of Tattvas

Arjuna–Vāsudeva framed dialogue

Devanagari script

अजीव: सर्वभूतानां ब्रह्मबीज: सनातन: । एतजज्ञात्वा च तत्त्वानि ज्ञानेन परमासिना

Transliteration

ajīvaḥ sarvabhūtānāṁ brahmabījaḥ sanātanaḥ | etaj jñātvā ca tattvāni jñānena paramāsinā

Translation

Wika ni Vāyu-deva: “Ang di-nasisira na simulain ay ang walang-hanggang binhi ng Brahman sa loob ng lahat ng nilalang. Kapag ito’y nalaman, dapat kilalanin ang mga tunay na katotohanan at, sa pamamagitan ng sukdulang tabak ng kaalaman, putulin ang kamangmangan—upang mamuhay nang malinaw ang isip, may pagpipigil-sa-sarili, at may wastong pagkaunawa.”

Word by Word

अजीवःthe non-living (principle)

सर्वभूतानाम्of all beings

ब्रह्मबीजःthe seed of Brahman

सनातनःeternal

एतत्this

ज्ञात्वाhaving known

चand

तत्त्वानिprinciples; realities

ज्ञानेनby knowledge

परमासिनाwith the supreme sword

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyu-deva

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That an eternal, imperishable principle underlies all beings and is the ‘seed’ leading to Brahman-realization; by recognizing this and discerning the tattvas, one uses knowledge as a ‘supreme sword’ to cut ignorance and live rightly.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu-deva is speaking in a didactic passage, delivering a metaphysical instruction: he points to the eternal principle present in all beings and urges the listener to employ discriminative knowledge to penetrate the truth of reality.