Shloka 10

Aśoka-śāstra: Nārada’s Instruction on the Cessation of Śoka

Grief

Devanagari script

परचक्षुषि चात्मानं ये न पश्यन्ति पार्थिव

Transliteration

paracakṣuṣi cātmānaṃ ye na paśyanti pārthiva

Translation

Wika ni Yājñavalkya: “O hari, yaong mga hindi nakakakita sa Sarili (Ātman) sa kung ano ang ‘nakikita sa mata ng iba’—ibig sabihin, yaong hinahanap ang pagkakakilanlan sa panlabas na pagtingin at anyo—ay hindi tunay na nakakakilala sa sarili.”

Word by Word

• परचक्षुषि: in another's eye/through another's sight
• परचक्षुषि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर-चक्षुस्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• आत्मानम्: oneself/the self
• आत्मानम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• पश्यन्ति: see
• Type: Verb
• Root: पश्
• Form: Present (Lat), Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• पार्थिव: O king (earth-lord)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

याज्ञवल्क्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• याज्ञवल्क्य (Yājñavalkya)
• पार्थिव (the king, addressed as ‘Pārthiva’)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True self-knowledge is inward: one must recognize the Ātman directly, not define oneself by external appearances or by how others see and judge.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, the sage Yājñavalkya addresses a king and delivers a reflective teaching on self-perception—warning against mistaking external viewpoints for the reality of the Self.