Shloka 15
Dharma-Pramāṇa-Vicāra: The Elusiveness of Dharma and the Limits of Rule-Lists
विदित्वा सप्त सूक्ष्माणि षडड़ं च महेश्वरम् । प्रधानविनियोगज्ञ: परं ब्रह्मानुपश्यति,जो पञ्चतन्मात्रा तथा मन और बुद्धि--इन सात सूक्ष्म तत्त्वोंको शाश्वत जानकर एवं छः: अंगोंसे यानी ऐश्वर्योंसे युक्त महेश्वरका ज्ञान प्राप्त करके इस बातको जान लेता है कि त्रिगुणात्मिका प्रकृतिका परिणाम ही यह सम्पूर्ण जगत् है, वह परब्रह्म परमात्माका साक्षात्कार कर लेता है
viditvā sapta sūkṣmāṇi ṣaḍ-aṅgaṁ ca maheśvaram | pradhāna-viniyoga-jñaḥ paraṁ brahmānupaśyati ||
Vyāsa said: “One who truly understands the seven subtle principles, and also knows Maheśvara endowed with the sixfold powers, and who is skilled in discerning how Pradhāna (primordial Nature) is deployed into manifestation—recognizing that the entire world is but a transformation of Prakṛti constituted of the three guṇas—comes to direct realization of the Supreme Brahman, the highest Self.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation arises from discriminative knowledge: understanding the subtle constituents of experience (often counted as the five tanmātras along with mind and intellect), recognizing the world as a transformation of three-guṇa Prakṛti, and knowing the Lord (Maheśvara) as the governing principle; such insight culminates in direct realization of the Supreme Brahman.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, Vyāsa continues a philosophical exposition: he describes the kind of knower—versed in subtle tattvas and in the operation of primordial Nature—who transcends mere theory and attains experiential vision of the highest reality, Brahman.