Shloka 14

Mind as Charioteer; Kṣetrajña, Tapas, and Dhyāna-Yoga

Adhyātma-Upadeśa

Devanagari script

यथा प्रदीपमादाय कश्चित्‌ तमसि गच्छति । तथा सन्त्वप्रदीपेन गच्छन्ति परमैषिण:

Transliteration

yathā pradīpam ādāya kaścit tamasi gacchati | tathā sattva-pradīpena gacchanti paramaiṣiṇaḥ ||

Translation

Như người cầm đèn mà bước trong đêm tối, cũng vậy, kẻ cầu Chân Lý tối thượng tiến đi trên đường tu tập nhờ ánh sáng của ngọn đèn sattva—sự trong sáng và thanh tịnh của tâm.

Word by Word

• यथा: just as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• प्रदीपम्: lamp
• प्रदीपम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रदीप
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• आदाय: having taken
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-दा
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral for gerund)

• कश्चित्: someone
• कश्चित्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: कश्चित्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तमसि: in darkness
• तमसि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तमस्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• गच्छति: goes/walks
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: Present (Lat), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• तथा: so/likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• सत्त्व-प्रदीपेन: by/with the lamp of sattva (purity)
• सत्त्व-प्रदीपेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्त्वप्रदीप
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• गच्छन्ति: go/proceed
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: Present (Lat), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• परम-एषिणः: seekers of the supreme (truth)
• परम-एषिणः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परमैषिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• वायुदेव (Vāyudeva)
• प्रदीप (lamp)
• तमस् (darkness)
• सत्त्व (sattva)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that sattva—mental clarity, purity, and balance—functions like a lamp for spiritual aspirants. Just as a lamp enables safe movement in darkness, sattva enables discernment and steady progress toward the supreme truth.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva speaks in the Ashvamedhika Parva, offering an instructive metaphor: seekers of the highest goal advance on the path of practice by relying on the illuminating power of sattva, contrasted with the obscuring nature of tamas (darkness).