Shloka 14
अध्याय २९७ — श्रेयः, धृति, दान-नियमाः
Welfare, Steadfastness, and Norms of Giving
शिरास्नाय्वस्थिसंघातं बीभत्सामेध्यसंकुलम् | भूतानामिन्द्रियाणां च गुणानां च समागमम्
śirāsnāyv-asthi-saṅghātaṃ bībhatsāmēdhya-saṅkulam | bhūtānām indriyāṇāṃ ca guṇānāṃ ca samāgamam ||
Wika ni Parāśara: “Ang katawang ito’y isang bunton lamang ng mga ugat, litid, at mga buto—kasuklam-suklam at siksik sa karumihan. Ito’y pawang pagsasama-sama lamang ng mga sangkap, ng mga pandama, at ng mga guṇa (mga hilig na nagtutulak sa karanasan).”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse urges disidentification from the body by viewing it realistically as a composite of physical parts and impurities, and as a temporary assemblage of elements, senses, and guṇas. This supports vairāgya (detachment) and ethical clarity by weakening pride, lust, and possessiveness rooted in body-identification.
Parāśara is instructing his listener in a contemplative, renunciatory analysis of the body. By describing the body’s constituents and impurity, he frames it as not-self and not worthy of attachment, aligning with Śānti Parva’s broader teachings on liberation-oriented dharma.