Shloka 31

ध्यानयोगवर्णनम्

Description of the Path of Meditation

Devanagari script

मानसोडग्नि: शरीरेषु जीव इत्यभिधीयते । सृष्टि: प्रजापतेरेषा भूताध्यात्मविनिश्चये

Transliteration

mānaso 'gnīḥ śarīreṣu jīva ity abhidhīyate | sṛṣṭiḥ prajāpater eṣā bhūtādhyātma-viniścaye ||

Translation

Bharadvāja nói: “Trong các thân thể, ngọn lửa nội tại trú trong tâm—sáng rực như lửa—được gọi là ‘jīva’ (ngã sống). Từ Prajāpati ấy, được hiểu như nguyên lý sinh mệnh mang tính tổng thể, vũ trụ này phát sinh. Lời này được nói ra sau khi đã định trí phân biệt rõ chân lý về nội ngã trong tương quan với muôn loài.”

Word by Word

• {'mānasaḥ': 'mental

• pertaining to the mind', 'agniḥ': 'fire

• here, the inner luminous principle', 'śarīreṣu': 'in (all) bodies', 'jīvaḥ': 'the living self

• vital conscious principle', 'iti': 'thus', 'abhidhīyate': 'is called

• is designated', 'sṛṣṭiḥ': 'creation

• emanation', 'prajāpateḥ': 'of Prajāpati (Lord of creatures

• progenitor principle)', 'eṣā': 'this', 'bhūta': 'beings

• created entities', 'adhyātma': 'pertaining to the inner self/spirit

• the domain of the self', 'viniścaya': 'ascertainment

• settled conclusion', 'bhūtādhyātma-viniścaye': 'in the ascertainment of (the relation between) beings and the inner self / in the settled doctrine of adhyātma regarding beings'}

Speaker

भरद्वाज उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bharadvāja
• Prajāpati
• jīva
• agni (inner fire)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse identifies the jīva as an inner, fire-like luminous consciousness associated with the mind within all bodies, and links cosmic creation to Prajāpati understood as the collective life-principle; it frames this as a conclusion reached through adhyātma (inner spiritual) discernment.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Bharadvāja is explaining a doctrine of the self and creation: he defines what is meant by ‘jīva’ in embodied beings and states that creation arises from Prajāpati, presenting it as a reasoned metaphysical conclusion.