Shloka 23
ध्यानयोगवर्णनम्
Description of the Path of Meditation
आत्मा क्षेत्रज्ञ इत्युक्त: संयुक्त: प्राकृतैर्गुणै: तैरेव तु विनिर्मुक्त: परमात्मेत्युदाहृत:
ātmā kṣetrajña ity uktaḥ saṃyuktaḥ prākṛtair guṇaiḥ | tair eva tu vinirmuktaḥ paramātmety udāhṛtaḥ ||
Wika ni Bharadvāja: “Kapag ang Sarili ay nakaugnay sa mga guṇa (katangian) na mula sa Prakṛti, ito’y tinatawag na kṣetrajña—ang nakakabatid sa ‘bukirin’ (larangan ng karanasan). Ngunit kapag ang Sariling iyon ay napalaya mula sa mga guṇa ring iyon, ito’y ipinahahayag na Paramātman, ang Kataas-taasang Sarili.”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The same conscious Self is termed kṣetrajña when it is associated with Prakṛti’s guṇas (the modes that shape embodied experience). When it is completely free from identification with those guṇas, it is spoken of as Paramātman—indicating liberation and the highest standpoint of consciousness.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, the sage Bharadvāja explains a doctrinal distinction: bondage is the Self’s association with material qualities, while freedom is the Self’s release from them, culminating in the designation ‘Supreme Self’.