Shloka 4
ब्रह्मघोष-प्रवर्तनम्, अनध्याय-नियमः, वायु-मार्ग-वर्णनम्
Restoring Vedic Recitation, the Anadhyaya Rule, and the Taxonomy of Winds
अव्यक्तस्तु न जानीते पुरुषो ज्ञ: स्वभावत: । न मत्त: परमो<स्तीति नित्यमेवाभिमन्यते,प्रकृतिको किसी वस्तुका ज्ञान नहीं होता। इसके विपरीत पुरुष स्वभावसे ही ज्ञानी है। वह सदा इस बातको जानता रहता है कि मुझसे कोई दूसरा उत्कृष्ट पदार्थ नहीं है
avyaktas tu na jānīte puruṣo jñaḥ svabhāvataḥ | na mattaḥ paramo 'stīti nityam evābhimanyate ||
Yājñavalkya sprach: „Das Unmanifestierte (Prakṛti) erkennt nicht wirklich; der Puruṣa hingegen ist seiner Natur nach der Erkennende. Stets hegt er die Überzeugung: ‘Nichts ist höher als ich.’“
याज़्वल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes unconscious Nature (Avyakta/Prakṛti), which does not ‘know’, from the conscious Self (Puruṣa), which is inherently the knower. It also highlights the Puruṣa’s self-assertion of supremacy, inviting reflection on how true discernment differs from egoic self-conceit.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on liberation-oriented philosophy, Yājñavalkya is explaining metaphysical categories—Prakṛti and Puruṣa—and their characteristics, as part of a broader teaching on discrimination (viveka) and the path to inner peace after the war.