12.231
bhīṣma uvāca॥
Bhīṣma said.
ityukto'bhipraśasyaitatparamarṣestu śāsanam। mokṣadharmārthasaṃyuktamidaṃ praṣṭuṃ pracakrame ॥12-231-1॥
Thus, having been addressed and especially praised, he began to ask about this instruction of the supreme sage, which is combined with liberation, virtue, and purpose.
śuka uvāca॥
Śuka said.
prajāvāñśrotriyo yajvā vṛddhaḥ prajño'nasūyakaḥ। anāgatamanaitihyaṃ kathaṃ brahmādhigacchati ॥12-231-2॥
How does a person who has progeny, is learned in the Vedas, performs sacrifices, is aged, wise, and free from envy, attain Brahman that is not yet manifest and not established by tradition?
tapasā brahmacaryeṇa sarvatyāgena medhayā। sāṅkhye vā yadi vā yoge etatpṛṣṭo’bhidhatsva me ॥12-231-3॥
Tell me this, whether it is through austerity, celibacy, complete renunciation, intelligence, Sāṅkhya, or Yoga, as I have asked.
manasaś cendriyāṇāṃ cāpy aikāgryaṃ samavāpyate। yenopāyena puruṣais tac ca vyākhyātum arhasi ॥12-231-4॥
Concentration of the mind and the senses is also attained; by whatever means men achieve this, you ought to explain that. 12-231-4.
vyāsa uvāca॥
Vyāsa said.
nānyatra vidyātapasornānyatrendriyanigrahāt। nānyatra sarvasantyāgātsiddhiṃ vindati kaścana ॥12-231-5॥
No one attains perfection except through knowledge and austerity, restraint of the senses, and complete renunciation.
mahābhūtāni sarvāṇi pūrvasṛṣṭiḥ svayambhuvaḥ। bhūyiṣṭhaṃ prāṇabhṛdgrāme niviṣṭāni śarīriṣu ॥12-231-6॥
All the great elements, created earlier by the self-born Brahmā, are predominantly present in the bodies of living beings.
bhūmer deho jalāt sāro jyotiṣaś cakṣuṣī smṛte। prāṇāpānāśrayo vāyuḥ kheṣv ākāśaṃ śarīriṇām ॥12-231-7॥
The body is formed from earth, the essence from water, the eyes are considered to be of light; air is the support of prāṇa and apāna; and ether is present in the spaces within embodied beings.
krānte viṣṇur bale śakraḥ koṣṭhe'gnir bhuktam arcchati। karṇayoḥ pradiśaḥ śrotre jihvāyāṃ vāksarasvatī ॥12-231-8॥
When traversing, Viṣṇu is present; in strength, Indra; in the stomach, Agni purifies what is eaten; in the ears, the directions; in the organ of hearing, in the tongue, speech, Sarasvatī.
karṇau tvak-cakṣuṣī jihvā nāsikā caiva pañcamī। darśanāni indriya-uktāni dvārāṇi āhāra-siddhaye ॥12-231-9॥
The ears, skin, eyes, tongue, and nose—these five senses, described as means of perception, are the doors through which intake is accomplished.
śabdaṃ sparśaṃ tathā rūpaṃ rasaṃ gandhaṃ ca pañcamam। indriyāṇi pṛthaktv arthān manaso darśayanty uta ॥12-231-10॥
The senses present to the mind the objects of sound, touch, form, taste, and smell, each as distinct.
indriyāṇi mano yuṅkte vaśyānyanteva vājinaḥ। manaścāpi sadā yuṅkte bhūtātmā hṛdayāśritaḥ ॥12-231-11॥
The mind controls the senses as a charioteer controls well-trained horses; and the embodied self, dwelling in the heart, always directs the mind as well.
indriyāṇāṃ tathaiveṣāṃ sarveṣāmīśvaraṃ manaḥ। niyame ca visarge ca bhūtātmā manasastathā ॥12-231-12॥
The mind is the lord of all these senses; in both restraint and release, the self of beings is likewise dependent on the mind.
indriyāṇīndriyārthāś ca svabhāvaś cetanā manaḥ। prāṇāpānau ca jīvaś ca nityaṃ deheṣu dehinām ॥12-231-13॥
The senses, their objects, innate nature, consciousness, mind, the vital breaths prāṇa and apāna, and the living being are always present in the bodies of embodied beings.
āśrayo nāsti sattvasya guṇaśabdo na cetanā। sattvaṃ hi tejaḥ sṛjati na guṇānvai kadācana ॥12-231-14॥
There is no support for sattva; the word 'guṇa' does not mean consciousness. Sattva indeed produces light, but never qualities.
evaṃ saptadaśaṃ dehe vṛtaṃ ṣoḍaśabhirguṇaiḥ। manīṣī manasā vipraḥ paśyatyātmānamātmani॥12-231-15॥
Thus, the wise sage, by the mind, perceives the seventeenth self, enveloped in the body by sixteen qualities, as the self within the self.
na hy ayaṃ cakṣuṣā dṛśyo na ca sarvair api indriyaiḥ। manasā sampradīptena mahān ātmā prakāśate ॥12-231-16॥
This is not seen by the eye, nor by all the senses; only by a mind that is fully illumined does the great self become manifest.
aśabdasparśarūpaṃ tadarasāgandhamavyayam। aśarīraṃ śarīre sve nirīkṣeta nirindriyam ॥12-231-17॥
One should perceive within one's own body that imperishable, bodiless principle which is devoid of sound, touch, form, taste, and smell, and is without senses.
avyaktaṃ vyaktadeheṣu martyeṣvamaramāśritam। yo'nupaśyati sa pretya kalpate brahmabhūyase ॥12-231-18॥
He who perceives the unmanifest, the immortal residing in the manifest bodies among mortals, after departing from this world, becomes eligible for union with Brahman.
vidyābhijanasampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini। śuni caiva śvapāke ca paṇḍitāḥ samadarśinaḥ ॥12-231-19॥
The wise see with equal vision a Brāhmaṇa endowed with knowledge and noble birth, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and even a dog-eater.
sa hi sarveṣu bhūteṣu jaṅgameṣu dhruveṣu ca। vasatyeko mahānātmā yena sarvamidaṃ tatam ॥12-231-20॥
He is indeed the one great soul who dwells in all beings, both moving and unmoving, by whom all this is pervaded.
sarvabhūteṣu cātmānaṃ sarvabhūtāni cātmani। yadā paśyati bhūtātmā brahma sampadyate tadā ॥12-231-21॥
When one sees the self in all beings and all beings in the self, then the embodied self attains Brahman.
yāvān ātmani vedātmā tāvān ātmā parātmani। ya evaṃ satataṃ veda so' mṛtatvāya kalpate ॥12-231-22॥
To the extent that one knows the self within oneself, to that extent the self is known in the supreme self. Whoever always knows thus becomes eligible for immortality.
sarvabhūtātmabhūtasya sarvabhūtahitasya ca। devāpi mārge muhyanti apadasya padaiṣiṇaḥ ॥12-231-23॥
Even the gods become bewildered on the path of one who is the self and well-wisher of all beings; seekers of the path of the pathless are confounded.
śakunīnām iv ākāśe jale vāricarasya vā। yathā gatir na dṛśyeta tathaiva sumahātmanaḥ ॥12-231-24॥
Just as the movement of birds in the sky or of an aquatic animal in water is not seen, so too is the path of the very great-souled one unseen.
kālaḥ pacati bhūtāni sarvāṇyevātmanaātmani। yasmiṃstu pacyate kālastaṃ na vedeha kaścana ॥12-231-25॥
Time indeed matures all beings within itself. But the one in whom time itself is matured, no one here knows.
na tadūrdhvaṃ na tiryak ca nādho na ca tiraḥ punaḥ। na madhye pratigṛhṇīte naiva kaścit kutaścana ॥12-231-26॥
It is not above, not across, not below, nor sideways again; it does not accept in the middle, nor does anyone accept it from anywhere.
sarve'ntaḥsthā ime lokā bāhyameṣāṃ na kiñcana। yaḥ sahasraṃ samāgacched yathā bāṇo guṇacyutaḥ ॥12-231-27॥
All these worlds exist within; for them, there is nothing outside. Even if a thousand were to gather, it would be like arrows released from a bowstring.
naivāntaṃ kāraṇasyeyādyadyapi syānmanojavaḥ। tasmātsūkṣmātsūkṣmataraṃ nāsti sthūlataraṃ tataḥ ॥12-231-28॥
Even if one had the speed of mind, one could not reach the end of the cause. Therefore, there is nothing subtler than the subtle, nor anything grosser than that.
sarvataḥ-pāṇi-pāda-antaṃ sarvataḥ-akṣi-śiraḥ-mukham। sarvataḥ-śrutim-alloke sarvam-āvṛtya tiṣṭhati ॥12-231-29॥
He has hands and feet everywhere, eyes, heads, and faces everywhere, ears everywhere in the world; having pervaded everything, he abides.
tadevāṇoraṇutaraṃ tanmahadbhyo mahattaram। tadantaḥ sarvabhūtānāṃ dhruvaṃ tiṣṭhanna dṛśyate ॥12-231-30॥
That is indeed subtler than the atom and greater than the great. Abiding as the constant within all beings, it is not seen.
akṣaraṃ ca kṣaraṃ caiva dvaidhībhāvo'yamātmanaḥ। kṣaraḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu divyaṃ hyamṛtam akṣaram ॥12-231-31॥
The self has a dual nature as imperishable and perishable; the perishable exists in all beings, while the divine is the immortal imperishable.
navadvāraṃ puraṃ gatvā haṃso hi niyato vaśī। īśaḥ sarvasya bhūtasya sthāvarasya carasya ca ॥12-231-32॥
Having entered the city with nine gates, the soul, being self-controlled and self-possessed, is the lord of all beings, both stationary and moving.
hānibhaṅgavikalpānāṃ navānāṃ saṃśrayeṇa ca| śarīrāṇāmajasyaāhurhaṃsatvaṃ pāradarśinaḥ ॥12-231-33॥
The wise say that, by association, the loss, destruction, and alternatives of new things pertain to the bodies of the unborn; the state of a swan is attributed to those who see through (the truth).
haṃsoktaṃ cākṣaraṃ caiva kūṭasthaṃ yattadakṣaram। tadvidvānakṣaraṃ prāpya jahāti prāṇajanmanī ॥12-231-34॥
The wise one, having realized the imperishable truth declared by the swan, abandons the cycle of birth and life.
