Shloka 26
Adhyāya 352: Brāhmaṇa–Nāga Saṃvāda — Uñchavrata-niścaya
Dialogue and the Resolve to Practice Uñchavrata
आधार तु प्रवक्ष्यामि एकस्य पुरुषस्य ते । बहूनां पुरुषाणां स यथैका योनिरुच्यते
ādhāraṃ tu pravakṣyāmi ekasya puruṣasya te | bahūnāṃ puruṣāṇāṃ sa yathaikā yonir ucyate ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Nun will ich dir die grundlegende Stütze darlegen: den einen Puruṣottama, der alles trägt. Ich werde ausführen, auf welche Weise jene eine Wirklichkeit als die eine Quelle und der eine Schoß bezeichnet wird, aus dem die vielen einzelnen Personen hervorgehen.“
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma introduces a metaphysical doctrine: behind the multiplicity of individual persons stands a single foundational Reality (puruṣa) that is the support of all and is described as the one causal source (yoni) of the many.
In the Mokṣa/Dharma instruction of Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma transitions into an explanation to his listener about the ultimate ground of existence—how the One relates to the many—setting up a teaching on origin, support, and the unity underlying plurality.