Shloka 24
Bhūta-guṇa-saṃkhyāna
Enumeration of the Properties of the Elements and Cognitive Faculties
जैसे मछली जलसे भिन्न है, फिर भी वे एक दूसरेसे संयुक्त रहते हैं। जैसे गूलर और उसके कीड़े एक दूसरेसे पृथक हैं तथापि परस्पर संयुक्त रहते हैं। उसी प्रकार बुद्धि और क्षेत्रञको भी समझना चाहिये ।।
īṣīkā vā yathā muñje pṛthak ca saha caiva ca | tathaiva sahitāv etāv anyonyasmin pratiṣṭhitau ||
毗耶娑说：譬如芒草（muñja）茎中之细纤（īṣīkā），与茎体本相有别，却仍同处相依；同样，应当理解 buddhi（辨别之智）与 kṣetrajña（“田地之知者”，即观照之我）之间的关系。二者在本质上虽异，却在生命经验中紧密相合，彼此依止而住——此譬喻旨在锐利分辨：一边是变易的认知器具，一边是恒常见证的自我。
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches viveka: buddhi (the changing instrument of understanding) and the kṣetrajña (the witnessing knower) are distinct in nature, yet appear conjoined in embodied life. One should not confuse the self with the operations of intellect, even though experience presents them as mutually connected.
In Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Vyāsa explains the relation between inner faculties and the self using a concrete metaphor (reed-fibre and muñja stalk), guiding the listener toward a clearer grasp of the self as separate from, yet associated with, the cognitive apparatus.