Shloka 7
अनाद्यन्तावुभावेतावलिज्री चाप्युभावपि,ये प्रकृति और पुरुष (जीवात्मा) दोनों ही अनादि और अनन्त हैंः। दोनों ही अलिंग निराकार हैं तथा दोनों ही नित्य, अविचल और महानसे भी महान हैं। ये सब बातें इन दोनोंमें समानरूपसे पायी जाती हैं; परंतु इनमें जो अन्तर या वैलक्षण्य है, वह दूसरा ही है, जिसे बताया जाता है
bhīṣma uvāca | anādyantāv ubhāv etāv aliṅgau cāpy ubhāv api | ye prakṛtiś ca puruṣaś ca (jīvātmā) ubhau anādi-anantau | ubhau aliṅgau nirākārau ca | ubhau nityau avicalau mahato 'pi mahāntau | etāni sarvāṇi dharmāḥ ubhayor api samānarūpeṇa dṛśyante | kintu tayor yaḥ antaraḥ yā vā vailakṣaṇyaṃ tat anyad eva, yat pratipādyate ||
Bhishma said: Both of these—Prakriti and Purusha (the individual self)—are without beginning and without end. Both are unmarked and formless; both are eternal, unmoving, and greater than even the great. In these respects they appear alike. Yet the true distinction between them—their specific difference—is something else, and that is what is to be explained.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that Prakriti (nature) and Purusha (the conscious self) share many ‘transcendent’ descriptors—beginningless, endless, formless, eternal—yet liberation-oriented inquiry depends on grasping their real distinction. The verse sets up a careful discrimination (viveka) between the material principle and the conscious principle.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on peace and higher wisdom, Bhishma continues his philosophical discourse, introducing a key doctrinal point: although Prakriti and the individual self can be described with similar lofty attributes, the decisive difference between them must be articulated to understand reality and the path toward moksha.