Shloka 16
Yoga, Nārāyaṇa as Supreme Principle, and the Emanation of Categories
Sāṅkhya-Yoga Outline
क्षीणकोशो ह्ुमावास्यां चन्द्रमा न प्रकाशते । तद्वन्मूर्तिविमुक्तोड्सौ शरीरी नोपलभ्यते
bhīṣma uvāca | kṣīṇakośo hy amāvāsyāṃ candramā na prakāśate | tadvan mūrtivimukto 'sau śarīrī nopalabhyate ||
Wika ni Bhishma: Kung paanong sa gabi ng bagong buwan ay hindi nagliliwanag ang buwan kapag humina ang ningning at hindi nahahayag ang liwanag, gayon din ang Sariling may katawan—kapag nahiwalay na sa katawan—ay hindi na maaabot ng karaniwang pagdama. Itinuturo nito na ang tinatawag nating “tao” ay hindi nauubos sa nasasaklaw ng pandama; kapag nawala ang salalayan ng katawan, ang Sarili ay hindi bagay na nakikita, kaya huwag ipagkamali ang di-pagkakita sa kawalan.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the Self is not an object of sensory perception. When the Self is separated from the body, it is not seen—just as the moon’s light is not manifest on the new-moon night—so absence from sight should not be confused with non-existence.
In the Shanti Parva instruction, Bhishma is explaining metaphysical and ethical understanding about the embodied being and death. He uses the familiar image of the moon at amavasya to clarify why the departed Self is not perceptible to ordinary observers.