Mahabharata — Ashvamedhika Parva, Shloka 50
Mokṣa-dharma Yoga-Upadeśa: Equanimity, Sense-Restraint, and Vision of the Ātman (आत्मदर्शन-योगोपदेशः)
जीवो निष्क्रान्तमात्मानं शरीरात् सम्प्रपश्यति । स तमुत्सृज्य देहे स्वं धारयन् ब्रह्म केवलम्
jīvo niṣkrāntam ātmānaṃ śarīrāt samprapaśyati | sa tam utsṛjya dehe svaṃ dhārayan brahma kevalam |
婆罗门说道：“个体之我（jīva）观见自身仿佛已出离——与此身躯截然有别。虽仍住于身中，却舍弃对身体的认同，了知其与我之分离，唯执持清净梵（Brahman）而已。通达实相者观想至上者为自身真实本性，并凭辨慧之助，亲证自我。于彼境界，他几乎含笑自语：‘唉！如海市蜃楼中所见之水，此世间——仅在我内显现——竟至今徒然使我沉沦迷妄。’如是得见至上者，便唯依彼而住，终归解脱入于我——安住于自我之内对至上者的直接体验。”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches discernment between Self and body: the jīva, through true knowledge (tattva-jñāna), abandons identification with the body and fixes awareness on Brahman alone. This clear seeing dissolves worldly delusion (like mirage-water) and culminates in liberation through refuge in the Supreme.
A brāhmaṇa speaker describes an inner yogic-gnostic realization: the seeker perceives the Self as distinct from the body, lets go of bodily identification while still living, contemplates pure Brahman, and arrives at liberating insight that the world’s binding power was a mistaken appearance.