Shloka 17

अध्यात्म-तत्त्व-निर्णयः

Adhyātma Taxonomy: Elements, Faculties, and Guṇas

Devanagari script

अशब्दस्पर्शरूपं तदरसागन्धमव्ययम्‌ | अशरीरं शरीरेषु निरीक्षेत निरिन्द्रियम्‌

Transliteration

aśabdasparśarūpaṃ tad arasāgandham avyayam | aśarīraṃ śarīreṣu nirīkṣeta nirindriyam ||

Translation

毗耶娑说：彼真实离于声、触、色，亦无味与香，且不坏不灭。虽无身无根，仍当于有身众生之内——就在此身之田地——以向内求证之自我省察，寻而直观之。

Word by Word

• अशब्दस्पर्शरूपम्: devoid of sound, touch, and form
• अशब्दस्पर्शरूपम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अशब्दस्पर्शरूप
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• तत्: that (Self/Principle)
• तत्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अरसागन्धम्: devoid of taste and smell
• अरसागन्धम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अरसागन्ध
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अव्ययम्: imperishable/unchanging
• अव्ययम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अव्यय
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अशरीरम्: bodiless
• अशरीरम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अशरीर
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• शरीरेषु: in (all) bodies
• शरीरेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Plural

• निरीक्षेत: one should observe/investigate
• निरीक्षेत: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-ईक्ष्
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular

• निरिन्द्रियम्: without senses
• निरिन्द्रियम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निरिन्द्रिय
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The Self/ultimate Reality is not an object of the senses—free from sound, touch, form, taste, and smell—yet it is to be realized within embodied life through inward discernment rather than outward sensory pursuit.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the didactic discourse of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa instructs the listener on the nature of the Self as imperishable and non-sensory, emphasizing contemplative inquiry within the body as the means to realization.