Shloka 4
इन्द्र–बलि संवादः
The Dialogue of Indra and Bali on Fortune, Humility, and Restraint
अत्राह को न्वयं भाव: स्वप्ने विषयवानिव । प्रलीनैरिन्द्रियैदेही वर्तते देहवानिव
atrāha ko nv ayaṃ bhāvaḥ svapne viṣayavān iva | pralīnair indriyaiḥ dehī vartate dehavān iva ||
毗湿摩说道：“此处提出一疑：梦中之经验，似乎具足真实境物，其地位究竟如何？因为在梦时，诸根融没（不复起用），而具身之我却仍如有身一般行止，仿佛游于诸境。故梦境既非纯然真实，亦非纯然虚无；提出此问，正为明了经验与自我的本性。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a philosophical problem: in dream, experiences appear object-filled and embodied, even though the senses are inactive. This challenges simple labels of ‘real’ or ‘unreal’ and prepares the ground for inquiry into how consciousness constructs experience and what the self is apart from sensory operation.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on liberation-oriented wisdom, Bhishma introduces (or reports) a pūrvapakṣa-style doubt: if dream-objects are not present and the senses are merged, how does the experiencer still act as if embodied? The question sets up the subsequent resolution about the nature of perception, mind, and the self.