Shloka 9
Varāha-avatāra: Viṣṇu’s subterranean intervention and the cosmic nāda (Śānti-parva 202)
यथा प्रदीप्त: पुरत: प्रदीप: प्रकाशमन्यस्य करोति दीप्यन् | तथेह पज्चेन्द्रियदीपवृक्षा ज्ञानप्रदीप्ता: परवन्त एव
yathā pradīptaḥ purataḥ pradīpaḥ prakāśam anyasya karoti dīpyan | tathaiha pañcendriya-dīpa-vṛkṣe jñāna-pradīptāḥ paravanta eva ||
毗湿摩说：譬如灯盏由火点燃，便自体发光；其焰炽盛时，亦能照亮近旁诸物。如此，在此身中——譬若一树，五根如灯——诸根由识知之光、即知识形态的觉照所点亮，因而显现各自所缘之境。然而其照明之力乃依他而起：并非自明，唯在内在光明之主宰下方能发用。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The senses can reveal objects only because they are illumined by the inner light of consciousness/knowledge; therefore sensory cognition is dependent, and true authority belongs to the knowing Self rather than to the senses.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhishma explains to the listener through a lamp metaphor that the five senses in the body function only when empowered by the deeper principle of awareness, emphasizing inner discernment over sensory compulsion.