Shloka 48
Jarā-Mṛtyu-anatikrama: Janaka–Pañcaśikha-saṃvāda
Aging and Death Cannot Be Overstepped
बुद्धमप्रतिबुद्धत्वाद् बुध्यमानं च तत्त्वतः । बुध्यमानं च बुद्ध च प्राहुयोगनिदर्शनम्
buddham apratibuddhatvād budhyamānaṃ ca tattvataḥ | budhyamānaṃ ca buddhaṃ ca prāhur yoga-nidarśanam ||
Vasiṣṭha sprach: „Wegen des Nicht-Erwachens (Unwissenheit) nennt man einen ‘budhyamāna’, den im Erwachen Befindlichen; und der Wahrheit nach heißt der völlig Erwachte ‘buddha’. In der Lehre des Yoga werden diese beiden—‘budhyamāna’ (die suchende Seele, die noch zur Erkenntnis gelangt) und ‘buddha’ (das stets wissensvolle höchste Selbst)—angeführt, um die Lehre zu veranschaulichen.“
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes two states of consciousness used in Yoga teaching: (1) buddha—fully awakened, ever-established in knowledge (identified in the Gita Press gloss with the Supreme Self/Paramātman), and (2) budhyamāna—the individual who, due to ignorance, is still in the process of awakening through inquiry and realization. The point is to frame liberation as a movement from non-awakening to full knowledge.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and higher wisdom, Vasiṣṭha is teaching a metaphysical distinction to clarify the Yoga standpoint: the realized principle and the seeker are spoken of separately for pedagogical purposes, showing how spiritual practice and discernment culminate in awakening.