Shloka 18
Jarā-Mṛtyu-anatikrama: Janaka–Pañcaśikha-saṃvāda
Aging and Death Cannot Be Overstepped
एवमेव च क्षेत्रज्ञ: क्षेत्रज्ञानपरिक्षये । प्रकृत्या निर्गुणस्त्वेष इत्येवमनुशुश्रुम
evam eva ca kṣetrajñaḥ kṣetrajñāna-parikṣaye | prakṛtyā nirguṇas tveṣa ity evam anuśuśruma ||
Vasiṣṭha sprach: „Ebenso ist es, wenn das Wissen vom Feld und vom Kenner des Feldes zu Ende geht—wenn der Puruṣa nicht mehr in der Haltung steht, Prakṛti zu ‘erkennen’—dann ist er seiner eigenen Natur nach nirguṇa, ohne Eigenschaften. So haben wir es in der Überlieferung vernommen.“
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
When the dualistic framework of ‘field’ (kṣetra) and ‘knower’ (kṣetrajña)—i.e., the stance of objectifying and knowing Prakṛti—falls away, the Self is recognized as inherently nirguṇa, beyond the three guṇas. Liberation is framed as the cessation of guṇa-bound cognition and identification.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, Vasiṣṭha is teaching a renunciatory, Sāṅkhya-leaning insight: the conscious principle (kṣetrajña) is not essentially a doer or quality-bearer; rather, when entanglement with Prakṛti and its knowable distinctions ceases, the Self’s qualityless nature is affirmed as received wisdom.