Shloka 70
Yoga-Sleep, Cosmic Dissolution, and the Lotus of Creation
with Mārkaṇḍeya’s Vision
न चैव कश्चिदव्यक्तं व्यक्तो वेदितुमर्हति । कश्चैष पुरुषो नाम किं योगः कश्च योगवान्
na caiva kaścidavyaktaṃ vyakto veditumarhati | kaścaiṣa puruṣo nāma kiṃ yogaḥ kaśca yogavān
Und wahrlich ist kein manifestes Wesen geeignet, das Unmanifeste zu erkennen. Wer also ist dieser, den man «Puruṣa» nennt? Was ist Yoga, und wer ist der Yogin, der Yoga besitzt?
Uncertain from single-verse context (likely within a Pulastya–Bhīṣma dialogue in Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa)
Concept: The Unmanifest cannot be grasped by ordinary manifest cognition; one must approach through disciplined yoga and revelation to understand Puruṣa.
Application: Cultivate humility in knowledge: accept limits of sense-based certainty; study śāstra, practice meditation, and seek guidance from realized teachers rather than speculation alone.
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A questioning sage stands at the edge of a dark, mirror-like cosmic ocean, gazing into a veil of mist where forms dissolve into formlessness. Above, a faint, transcendent silhouette of the Supreme Person is hinted only by a luminous outline and the suggestion of conch and discus—inviting inquiry rather than offering full visibility.","primary_figures":["Inquiring sage (unnamed)","Nārāyaṇa as Puruṣa (veiled/implicit)"],"setting":"Threshold scene: shoreline of the Ekārṇava with a misty curtain separating manifest world from the unmanifest.","lighting_mood":"forest dappled","color_palette":["mist white","charcoal black","sapphire blue","pale gold","smoky lavender"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: a sage in reverent inquiry at the ocean’s edge, hands in añjali; behind a translucent veil, a gold-leaf aura suggests Nārāyaṇa’s presence with conch/discus motifs; rich ornamental borders, gem-like highlights, and traditional iconographic geometry emphasizing the unknowable avyakta.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: delicate sage figure with refined expression of wonder, standing before a misty expanse; the divine hinted through soft luminous gradients and minimal iconographic cues; cool mountain-like palette and lyrical negative space to convey the unmanifest.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold-outlined sage and a large, partially veiled Vishnu aura; stylized mist patterns as repeating motifs; natural pigments with strong contrasts, temple-wall symmetry, and expressive eyes conveying philosophical inquiry.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: central sage framed by intricate floral borders; a circular veil-mandala with conch/discus motifs suggests the Puruṣa beyond sight; deep blue ground with gold and white detailing, lotus motifs used as symbols of emergence from the unmanifest."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"narrative","suggested_raga":"Desh","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["soft bell punctuations","tanpura drone","pages/rosary beads faintly","quiet wind","silence between questions"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: च+एव → चैव; कश्चित्+अव्यक्तम् → कश्चिदव्यक्तम् (त्+अ → द); वेदितुम्+अर्हति → वेदितुमर्हति; कः+च+एषः → कश्चैष (विसर्ग/श्च-संधि); कः+च → कश्च.
FAQs
It stresses the epistemic limit of ordinary, conditioned (vyakta) perception: the Unmanifest principle is not grasped as an object by normal sensory-intellectual means, implying the need for a higher discipline or realization.
Puruṣa commonly denotes the Supreme Person or the inner conscious principle (Self) distinct from manifest nature; the verse frames it as a doctrinal question inviting a formal definition.
Yoga is presented as the means or state connected with realizing higher truth, while yogavān is the one who possesses that discipline/realization—i.e., a practitioner or realized yogin capable of approaching what the manifest mind cannot.