Shloka 38
Vyaktāvyakta-Viveka and Nivṛtti as Paramā Gati
Manifest–Unmanifest Discrimination and the Supreme Path of Withdrawal
अजर: सो<मरश्वैव व्यक्ताव्यक्तोपदेशवान् | व्यापक: सगुण: सूक्ष्म: सर्वभूतगुणाश्रय:,वह पुरुष जरा-मरणसे रहित, व्यापक, समस्त स्थूल-सूक्ष्म तत्त्वोंका प्रेरक, सर्वज्ञत्व आदि गुणोंसे युक्त, सूक्ष्म तथा सम्पूर्ण भूतों और उनके गुणोंका आश्रय है
ajaraḥ so 'maraś caiva vyaktāvyaktopadeśavān | vyāpakaḥ saguṇaḥ sūkṣmaḥ sarvabhūtaguṇāśrayaḥ ||
Bhīṣma sprach: Jener höchste Puruṣa ist frei von Verfall und Tod. Er lehrt das Manifestierte wie das Unmanifestierte, durchdringt alles und trägt — obgleich subtil — die Eigenschaften jedes Wesens. Mit Merkmalen wie Allwissenheit begabt, ist er der innere Antreiber aller groben und feinen Prinzipien und die Zuflucht, in der alle Geschöpfe und ihre Eigenschaften ruhen.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines the Supreme Person as beyond aging and death, all-pervading and subtle, yet the foundational support of all beings and their qualities; it frames ultimate reality as both transcendent (unmanifest) and immanent (manifest), and as the inner ground of ethical and spiritual life.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhishma continues his discourse to Yudhishthira by describing the nature of the Supreme Purusha—highlighting divine immortality, omnipresence, and the role of the Supreme as the substratum of the world and its qualities.