Shloka 31
Vyaktāvyakta-Viveka and Nivṛtti as Paramā Gati
Manifest–Unmanifest Discrimination and the Supreme Path of Withdrawal
शब्द: स्पर्शक्ष रूपं च रसो गन्धस्तथैव च । विज्ञेयं व्यापकं चित्तं तेषु सर्वगतं मन:
śabdaḥ sparśaś ca rūpaṃ ca raso gandhas tathaiva ca | vijñeyaṃ vyāpakaṃ cittaṃ teṣu sarvagataṃ manaḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“声、触、色、味、香——此为五境。应当了知：那遍满一切、贯通诸境的心识（citta），即当名为意（manas）。因此说意无处不在，游行于一切感官知觉之域。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines the mind in relation to sense-experience: the five sense-objects are sound, touch, form, taste, and smell, and the mind (manas) is to be understood as the pervasive citta that ranges through and connects with all these objects. This supports ethical self-mastery by urging discernment of how consciousness spreads outward through the senses.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and right living, Bhīṣma continues his philosophical teaching to Yudhiṣṭhira, explaining the workings of the inner instrument—how mind/consciousness relates to sensory objects—so that the listener may cultivate restraint and insight.