Shloka 19
मनु-उपदेशः — भूत-उत्पत्ति, इन्द्रिय-निवृत्ति, तथा पर-स्वभाव-विवेकः
Manu’s Instruction on Elemental Origination, Sense-Withdrawal, and Discrimination of the Supreme Nature
यह चराचर जगत् बुद्धिके उदय होनेपर ही उत्पन्न होता है और उसके लयके साथ ही लीन हो जाता है; इसलिये यह सारा प्रपंच बुद्धिमय ही है; अतएव श्रुतिने सबकी बुद्धिरूपताका ही निर्देश किया है ।।
yena paśyati tac cakṣuḥ, śṛṇoti śrotram ucyate | jighrati prāṇam ity āhuḥ, rasaṁ jānāti jihvayā ||
Wika ni Bhishma: Ang daigdig na ito—ang gumagalaw at di-gumagalaw—ay nalilikha lamang kapag sumisilang ang talino (buddhi), at nalulusaw kapag ito’y lumulubog. Kaya ang buong pag-iral na ito ay buddhi-maya; kaya’t itinuro ng śruti na ang lahat ay may anyong talino. Ang sa pamamagitan nito’y nakakakita ay tinatawag na “mata”; ang sa pamamagitan nito’y nakaririnig ay “tainga”. Gayundin, ang sa pamamagitan nito’y nakaaamoy ay tinatawag na prāṇa (hiningang-buhay), at sa dila nito nalalaman ang lasa. Kaya ang tinatawag na mga pandama ay hindi hiwalay na kapangyarihan, kundi mga pangalan ng mga gampaning dinaraanan ng panloob na talino upang maunawa ang mundo.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that ‘eye’ and ‘ear’ are functional names for the means by which inner intelligence (buddhi/awareness) perceives; the senses are instruments, while cognition belongs to the inner principle. This supports the broader claim that the experienced world is ‘buddhi-made’ in the sense that it is known, structured, and finally withdrawn through buddhi.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on liberation-oriented dharma. Here he explains how perception works—defining the sense-organs by their functions—to shift attention from external objects to the inner knower and the role of buddhi in experience.