Shloka 19
ध्यानयोगवर्णनम्
Description of the Path of Meditation
भूगुरुवाच न पञ्चसाधारणमत्र किंचि- च्छरीरमेको वहते<न्तरात्मा | स वेत्ति गन्धांश्व रसान् श्रुतीश्व स्पर्श च रूप॑ च गुणांश्व येडन्ये
Bhṛgur uvāca: na pañca-sādhāraṇam atra kiñcit; śarīram eko vahate ’ntarātmā | sa vetti gandhān ca rasān ca śrutīṁś ca sparśaṁ ca rūpaṁ ca guṇāṁś ca ye ’nye ||
Wika ni Bhṛgu: “O muni! Dito’y walang anumang umiiral bilang hiwalay na simulain na ‘pangkaraniwan’ sa limang elemento. Ang iisang Panloob na Sarili (Ātman) lamang ang nagdadala ng bigat ng katawang ito. Siya ring nakaaalam ng amoy at lasa, ng tunog, ng haplos at anyo—at ng iba pang mga katangian.”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts that the inner Self (antarātman) is the true experiencer: it sustains the body and cognizes sensory qualities (smell, taste, sound, touch, form). It denies an additional independent principle ‘common to the five elements’ as the basis of experience, emphasizing consciousness as the ground of perception and responsibility.
In the Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Bhṛgu responds within a teacher–sage dialogue (with Bharadvāja named as the speaker in the surrounding frame), explaining how embodied experience works: the senses present qualities, but the inner Self is what actually knows them.