Shloka 19
मनु-उपदेशः — भूत-उत्पत्ति, इन्द्रिय-निवृत्ति, तथा पर-स्वभाव-विवेकः
Manu’s Instruction on Elemental Origination, Sense-Withdrawal, and Discrimination of the Supreme Nature
यह चराचर जगत् बुद्धिके उदय होनेपर ही उत्पन्न होता है और उसके लयके साथ ही लीन हो जाता है; इसलिये यह सारा प्रपंच बुद्धिमय ही है; अतएव श्रुतिने सबकी बुद्धिरूपताका ही निर्देश किया है ।।
yena paśyati tac cakṣuḥ, śṛṇoti śrotram ucyate | jighrati prāṇam ity āhuḥ, rasaṁ jānāti jihvayā ||
毗湿摩说道：此动静之世，唯在理智（buddhi）兴起时方得生起；随其寂灭而复归消融。故此一切境界皆为“理智所成”（buddhi‑maya）；因此《闻传》（śruti）指示万有皆具理智之相。觉知凭以见者，名为“眼”；凭以闻者，名为“耳”。同样，凭以嗅者称为“普拉那”（prāṇa，生命之息）；凭舌而知味。由是可知，所谓诸根并非独立之力，不过是内在理智取境之诸作用之名。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that ‘eye’ and ‘ear’ are functional names for the means by which inner intelligence (buddhi/awareness) perceives; the senses are instruments, while cognition belongs to the inner principle. This supports the broader claim that the experienced world is ‘buddhi-made’ in the sense that it is known, structured, and finally withdrawn through buddhi.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on liberation-oriented dharma. Here he explains how perception works—defining the sense-organs by their functions—to shift attention from external objects to the inner knower and the role of buddhi in experience.