Mahabharata — Ashvamedhika Parva, Shloka 10
Mind as Charioteer; Kṣetrajña, Tapas, and Dhyāna-Yoga
Adhyātma-Upadeśa
नित्यं द्वन्द्धसमायुक्तं सत्त्वमाहुर्मनीषिण: । निर्दचन्दो निष्कलो नित्य: क्षेत्रज्ञो निर्गुणात्मक:,मनीषी पुरुष सत्त्वको द्वन्धयुक्त कहते हैं और क्षेत्रज्ञ निर्दन्द्ध, निष्कल, नित्य और निर्मुणस्वरूप है
nityaṁ dvandva-samāyuktaṁ sattvam āhur manīṣiṇaḥ | nirdvandvo niṣkalo nityaḥ kṣetrajño nirguṇātmakaḥ ||
Wika ni Vāyu-deva: “Sinasabi ng marurunong na ang sattva ng nilalang na may katawan ay laging nakabuhol sa mga pares ng salungatan—ligaya at pighati, pakinabang at pagkalugi, papuri at paninisi. Ngunit ang Nakaaalam ng Larangan (kṣetrajña), ang panloob na saksi, ay malaya sa gayong dalawahan: walang bahagi, laging nananatili, at may likas na lampas sa mga guṇa. Kaya natatagpuan ang katatagang etikal sa pagkilalang ang salungatan ay naglalaro lamang sa isip, habang ang Sarili ay nananatiling di-nadadapuan at di-nahahati.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes between the mind/embodied disposition that is continually caught in dualities (dvandvas) and the kṣetrajña—the inner witness—which is untouched by them, partless, eternal, and beyond the guṇas. Ethical steadiness comes from identifying with the witness rather than the fluctuating opposites.
Vāyu-deva is instructing the listener in a philosophical-ethical reflection: ordinary experience is marked by constant oscillation between opposites, but the true Self (kṣetrajña) remains unaffected. The teaching guides the hearer toward detachment and discernment.