Shloka 116
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
येयं प्रकृतिरव्यक्ता कलाभिरवव्यक्ततां गता । अहं च त्वं च राजेन्द्र ये चाप्यन्ये शरीरिण:
yeyaṁ prakṛtir avyaktā kalābhir avyaktatāṁ gatā | ahaṁ ca tvaṁ ca rājendra ye cāpy anye śarīriṇaḥ ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Diese uranfängliche Natur, obgleich sie an sich unmanifestiert ist, ist durch ihre konstitutiven Teile in den Zustand der Manifestation eingetreten. Und ich und du, o Bester der Könige, und alle anderen verkörperten Wesen ebenso — wir sind in diesen Vorgang verstrickt.“
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma points to a Sāṅkhya-style insight: the world of bodies and persons is tied to prakṛti, which is subtle and unmanifest in its root form yet becomes expressed through its constituent aspects. Recognizing this helps cultivate detachment and discernment about what is truly permanent versus what is a product of nature’s transformations.
In the Śānti Parva’s post-war instruction, Bhīṣma continues advising the king (Yudhiṣṭhira). Here he frames the discussion in metaphysical terms, reminding the ruler that all embodied beings—including speaker and listener—participate in the same natural process of manifestation, a perspective meant to steady the mind and guide ethical governance.