Shloka 37

Adhyāya 302: Guṇa-vicāra, Gati-bheda, and the Imperishable State

Yājñavalkya–Janaka

Devanagari script

महांश्वैवाग्रजो नित्यमेतत्‌ क्षरनिदर्शनम्‌ | कथितं ते महाराज यन्मां त्वं परिपृच्छसि,क्षर-तत्त्वोंमें सबसे पहले महत्तत्त्वकी ही सृष्टि हुई है। यह बात सदा ध्यानमें रखनेयज्ञेय है। यही क्षरका परिचय है। महाराज! तुमने जो मुझसे पूछा था, उसके अनुसार यह मैंने तुम्हारे समक्ष क्षर-अक्षरके विषयका वर्णन किया है

Transliteration

mahāṁś caivāgrajo nityam etat kṣara-nidarśanam | kathitaṁ te mahārāja yan māṁ tvaṁ paripṛcchasi ||

Translation

Vasiṣṭha sprach: „Erkenne dies stets als das kennzeichnende Merkmal des Vergänglichen (kṣara): Unter den Hervorgebrachten ist Mahat — das Große Prinzip — wahrlich der Erstgeborene. O großer König, gemäß dem, was du mich fragtest, habe ich dir so die Sache des Vergänglichen und des Unvergänglichen dargelegt.“

Word by Word

• {'mahān (mahat-tattva)': 'the ‘Great’ principle

• primordial intellect/cosmic intelligence, first evolute in Sāṅkhya-style cosmology', 'agrajaḥ': 'first-born

• earliest produced', 'nityam': 'always

• constantly (to be kept in mind)', 'etat': 'this', 'kṣara': 'perishable

• that which undergoes change/decay', 'nidarśanam': 'mark, characteristic sign, definition by indication', 'kathitam': 'told, explained', 'te': 'to you', 'mahārāja': 'O great king', 'yat': 'which

• what', 'mām': 'me', 'tvam': 'you', 'paripṛcchasi': 'you ask

Speaker

वसिष्ठ उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• Mahārāja (the king, unnamed here)
• Mahat (Mahattattva)
• Kṣara
• Akṣara

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The perishable realm (kṣara) is identified by origination and change; its first manifest principle is Mahat (cosmic intellect). Remembering this helps distinguish mutable phenomena from the imperishable (akṣara).

What is happening in the narrative?

Vasiṣṭha concludes a response to the king’s inquiry, summarizing the defining sign of kṣara and stating that he has explained the doctrine of kṣara and akṣara as requested.