Shloka 2
Adhyāya 352: Brāhmaṇa–Nāga Saṃvāda — Uñchavrata-niścaya
Dialogue and the Resolve to Practice Uñchavrata
जनमेजयने पूछा--ब्रह्मन! पुरुष अनेक हैं या एक? इस जगत्में कौन पुरुष सबसे श्रेष्ठ है? अथवा किसे यहाँ सबकी उत्पत्तिका स्थान बताया जाता है? ।।
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: Bahavaḥ puruṣā loke sāṅkhyayogavicāraṇe; na etad icchanti puruṣam ekaṃ Kurukuloddhaha.
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Träger der Kuru-Linie, in dieser Welt gibt es—gemäß den Betrachtungen der Lehren von Sāṅkhya und Yoga—viele ‘puruṣas’ (Selbste). Jene Denker erkennen die Lehre von nur einem einzigen Puruṣa nicht an.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states that, in Sāṅkhya-Yoga philosophical inquiry, the conscious selves (puruṣas) are regarded as many, and the view of a single, universal Puruṣa is not accepted in that framework.
In the Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Janamejaya’s question about whether the ‘puruṣa’ is one or many is being answered by Vaiśampāyana, who reports the Sāṅkhya-Yoga position: plurality of puruṣas.