Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 15
नारद–शुक संवादः (Nārada–Śuka Dialogue): Tyāga, Saṃyama, and Vyakta–Avyakta Viveka
मनस्तथैवाहंकारे प्रतिष्ठाप्प नराधिप । अहंकार तथा बुद्धौ बुद्धिं च प्रकृतावपि
manas tathaivāhaṅkāre pratiṣṭhāpya narādhipa | ahaṅkāras tathā buddhau buddhiṁ ca prakṛtāv api ||
Sinabi ni Yājñavalkya: “O hari, kapag itinatag ang isip sa ahaṃkāra (diwang ‘ako’), at ang ahaṃkāra sa buddhi (talino ng paghatol), at ang buddhi naman sa Prakṛti (ang unang Kalikasan), natutunton ng tao ang mga panloob na kakayahan pabalik sa mas maselang pinagmulan. Ito ang mapagnilay na kaayusan kung saan nauunawaan ng tao na ang buhay ng isip ay nakasalalay sa mas malalalim na simulain, at lumuluwag ang pagkakapit sa pabagu-bagong galaw ng pag-iisip.”
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a hierarchical mapping of inner faculties—mind (manas) grounded in ego-sense (ahaṅkāra), ego-sense in intellect (buddhi), and intellect in Prakṛti—so that one sees these as conditioned processes rather than the true Self, aiding detachment and liberation-oriented discernment.
In a didactic dialogue within Śānti Parva, the sage Yājñavalkya instructs a king on contemplative analysis of the psyche, explaining how to ‘place’ each faculty into its subtler source as part of a philosophical teaching on the constituents of experience and the path to inner peace.