Shloka 16
Adhyāya 353 — Kathā-prāmāṇya (Authority of Transmission) and the Brāhmaṇa’s Ascetic Resolve
स सप्तदशकेनापि राशिना युज्यते च सः । एवं बहुविध: प्रोक्त: पुरुषस्ते यथाक्रमम्
sa saptadaśakenāpi rāśinā yujyate ca saḥ | evaṁ bahuvidhaḥ proktaḥ puruṣas te yathākramam |
قال بهيشما: إنّ ذلك البوروṣا نفسه يقترن أيضاً بمجموع المبادئ السبعة عشر. وهكذا، على الترتيب، يُوصَف لك البوروṣا بأنّه متعدّد الوجوه، لأنّه بتفاضل الكارما يبلغ أحوالاً شتّى كأحوال الآلهة والبهائم. وبهذا شرحتُ لك خطوةً خطوة كيف أنّ البوروṣا واحدٌ في جوهره، وإن بدا كثيراً في التجربة.
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The conscious Self (Puruṣa) is one in essence, yet appears manifold because it is associated with a seventeenfold aggregate (the subtle-body principles) and, through differences of karma, experiences varied births and states such as divine and animal.
Bhishma (Pitamaha) continues his instruction in the Shanti Parva, explaining to his listener—sequentially—how the Puruṣa relates to the subtle body and why the same Self is spoken of as ‘many’ in the context of karmic destinies.