Shloka 12

Śarīrin, Buddhi, and the Limits of Sense-Perception (इन्द्रियबुद्धिशरीरिविचारः)

Devanagari script

जलबिन्दुर्यथा लोल: पर्णस्थ: सर्वतश्नलः । एवमेवास्य चित्तं च भवति ध्यानवर्त्मनि

Transliteration

jalabindur yathā lolaḥ parṇasthaḥ sarvataś calaḥ | evam evāsya cittaṃ ca bhavati dhyāna-vartmani ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“譬如一滴水停在叶上，颤动不定，向四方游移；修行者之心一旦置于禅观之途，起初亦复如是，摇荡不安。”

Word by Word

• जल: of water
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• बिन्दुः: a drop
• बिन्दुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: बिन्दु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

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

• लोलः: trembling, unsteady
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लोल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पर्णस्थः: situated on a leaf
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर्णस्थ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सर्वतः: on all sides, in every direction
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वतः

• चलः: moving, wavering
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• एवम्: thus, in the same way
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम्

• एव: indeed, just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• अस्य: of him/this (person)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• चित्तम्: mind
• चित्तम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चित्त
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• भवति: becomes, is
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Present, Indicative, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• ध्यानवर्त्मनि: on the path of meditation
• ध्यानवर्त्मनि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्यानवर्त्मन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• jalabindu (water-drop)
• parṇa (leaf)
• citta (mind)
• dhyāna-vartman (path of meditation)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Early restlessness of the mind is natural on the meditative path; like a water-drop on a leaf, it easily wavers, implying the need for patience, steady practice, and gradual stabilization.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and inner discipline, Bhīṣma teaches by analogy, describing the beginner’s mind in meditation as inherently unstable at first, setting expectations for the seeker’s training.