Shloka 22

ध्यानयोगवर्णनम्

Description of the Path of Meditation

Devanagari script

आपोमयमिदं सर्वमापो मूर्ति: शरीरिणाम्‌ । तत्रात्मा मानसो ब्रह्मा सर्वभूतेषु लोककृत्‌

Transliteration

āpomayam idaṃ sarvam āpo mūrtiḥ śarīriṇām | tatrātmā mānaso brahmā sarvabhūteṣu lokakṛt ||

Translation

Bharadvāja nói: “Toàn thể thế giới hiển lộ này thấm nhuần bởi nước; và thân của các hữu tình cũng là một dạng của nước. Trong thân mang hình nước ấy, Tự ngã trú trong tâm (manas) hiện hữu. Chính nguyên lý ấy được biết giữa muôn loài là Brahmā, đấng tạo lập các thế giới—vì tổng thể kết tụ của mọi sinh linh được gọi là ‘Brahmā’.”

Word by Word

• {'āpomaya': 'made of water

• constituted chiefly of the water-element', 'idaṃ sarvam': 'all this

• the entire manifested field of experience', 'āpaḥ': 'waters

• the water-element (one of the bhūtas)', 'mūrtiḥ': 'form

• concrete manifestation', 'śarīriṇām': 'of embodied beings

• of those who possess bodies', 'tatra': 'therein

• in that (body/constitution)', 'ātmā': 'Self

• inner conscious principle', 'mānasaḥ': 'mental

• abiding/operating in the mind', 'brahmā': 'Brahmā

• here also the cosmic principle identified with the aggregate of beings', 'sarvabhūteṣu': 'in all beings

• among all creatures', 'lokakṛt': 'world-maker

• creator/ordainer of the worlds', 'saṅghāta': 'aggregate

• composite mass (of beings)', 'jīva': 'living being

Speaker

भरद्वाज उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bharadvāja
• Āpaḥ (Water element)
• Ātman (Self)
• Brahmā

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse links cosmology and self-inquiry: the world and the body are described as predominantly ‘water-formed,’ yet within this elemental constitution the conscious Self abides, associated with the mind. That inner principle is identified with ‘Brahmā’ as the world-maker, emphasizing a vision where the cosmic creator is understood through the living totality (the aggregate of beings) and the indwelling Self rather than merely as an external deity.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, Bharadvāja is expounding a philosophical account of embodiment and creation. He explains the elemental basis of the body (water predominance) and then elevates the discussion to the indwelling Self, interpreting ‘Brahmā’ as the creative principle present across all beings and as a name for the collective living aggregate.