Shloka 24
Bhūta-guṇa-saṃkhyāna
Enumeration of the Properties of the Elements and Cognitive Faculties
जैसे मछली जलसे भिन्न है, फिर भी वे एक दूसरेसे संयुक्त रहते हैं। जैसे गूलर और उसके कीड़े एक दूसरेसे पृथक हैं तथापि परस्पर संयुक्त रहते हैं। उसी प्रकार बुद्धि और क्षेत्रञको भी समझना चाहिये ।।
īṣīkā vā yathā muñje pṛthak ca saha caiva ca | tathaiva sahitāv etāv anyonyasmin pratiṣṭhitau ||
Wika ni Vyāsa: Gaya ng hiblang pinong (īṣīkā) sa loob ng tangkay ng damong muñja—naiiba man dito ay nananatiling magkakasama—gayon din dapat maunawaan ang ugnayan ng buddhi (mapagkilatis na talino) at ng kṣetrajña (ang nakaaalam ng “bukid”). Bagama’t magkaiba sa diwa, sila’y nananatiling malapit na magkaugnay sa karanasang buhay, na ang isa’y sumasandig sa isa—isang larawan upang patalasin ang paghiwalay sa nagbabagong mga kasangkapan ng pag-unawa at sa sarili na saksi.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches viveka: buddhi (the changing instrument of understanding) and the kṣetrajña (the witnessing knower) are distinct in nature, yet appear conjoined in embodied life. One should not confuse the self with the operations of intellect, even though experience presents them as mutually connected.
In Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Vyāsa explains the relation between inner faculties and the self using a concrete metaphor (reed-fibre and muñja stalk), guiding the listener toward a clearer grasp of the self as separate from, yet associated with, the cognitive apparatus.