Shloka 4
Śuka–Janaka Saṃvāda: Āśrama-krama, Jñāna-vijñāna, and the Marks of Liberation (शुक-जनक संवादः)
हस्तावध्यात्ममित्याहुर्यथा संख्यानदर्शिन: । कर्तव्यमधिभूतं तु इन्द्रस्तत्राधिदिवतम्
hastāv adhyātmam ity āhur yathā saṅkhyānadarśinaḥ | kartavyam adhibhūtaṃ tu indras tatrādhidaivatam ||
یاج्ञولکْی نے کہا—جیسا کہ سانکھیہ کے بینا لوگ کہتے ہیں، دونوں ہاتھ ادھیاتم ہیں؛ جو کام کرنا ہے وہ ادھی بھوت ہے؛ اور وہاں اندر ادھی دیوتا ہے۔
याज़्वल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse maps experience into three correlated registers: (1) adhyātma—the inner, subjective basis (here, the hands as faculties of action within the embodied self); (2) adhibhūta—the objective field where actions and duties are carried out (the ‘to-be-done’ act); and (3) adhidaivata—the presiding divine principle that governs or empowers that function (Indra). This framework ethically situates action: duty is performed in the world, through inner faculties, under an ordering principle.
In Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Yājñavalkya is explaining a classificatory doctrine used by ‘category-seers’ (saṅkhyāna-darśinaḥ). He identifies how a bodily faculty (hands), an action/duty (kartavya), and a deity (Indra) correspond across the adhyātma–adhibhūta–adhidaivata scheme.