पञ्चात्मकेषु भूतेषु समानेषु च वस्तुत: । को भवानिति व: प्रश्नो वाचारम्भो ह्यनर्थक: ॥ २३ ॥
pañcātmakeṣu bhūteṣu samāneṣu ca vastutaḥ ko bhavān iti vaḥ praśno vācārambho hy anarthakaḥ
- pañca
- of five elements
- ātmakeṣu
- made of
- bhūteṣu
- thus existing
- samāneṣu
- being the same
- ca
- also
- vastutaḥ
- in essence
- kaḥ
- who
- bhavān
- are You
- iti
- thus
- vaḥ
- your
- praśnaḥ
- question
- vācā
- merely with words
- ārambhaḥ
- such an endeavor
- hi
- certainly
- anarthakaḥ
- without real meaning or purpose
If by asking Me “Who are You?” you were referring to the material body, then I must point out that all material bodies are constituted of five elements, namely earth, water, fire, air and ether. Thus, you should have asked, “Who are you five?” If you consider that all material bodies are ultimately one, being constituted essentially of the same elements, then your question is still meaningless, since there would be no deep purpose in distinguishing one body from another. Thus, it appears that in asking My identity, you are merely speaking words, without any real meaning or purpose.