Shloka 22
Adhyāya 302: Guṇa-vicāra, Gati-bheda, and the Imperishable State
Yājñavalkya–Janaka
अव्यक्ताद् व्यक्तमापन्नं विद्यासर्ग वदन्ति तम् । महान्तं चाप्यहड़कारमविद्यासर्गमेव च,इनमें निराकारसे साकार रूपमें प्रकट होनेवाली मूल प्रकृतिको तो विद्यासर्ग कहते हैं और महत्तत्त्व एवं अहंकारको अविद्यासर्ग कहते हैं
avyaktād vyaktam āpannaṃ vidyāsargaṃ vadanti tam | mahāntaṃ cāpy ahaṅkāram avidyāsargam eva ca ||
Vasiṣṭha said: “That manifestation which proceeds from the Unmanifest into the manifest is called the ‘creation of knowledge’ (vidyā-sarga). But the emergence of Mahat (the great principle) and of Ahaṅkāra (the ego-principle) is indeed called the ‘creation of ignorance’ (avidyā-sarga).”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes two modes of ‘creation’: the movement from the unmanifest to manifest nature is termed vidyā-sarga (aligned with discernment), while the arising of Mahat and Ahaṅkāra is termed avidyā-sarga because it supports ego-based misidentification and bondage unless rightly understood.
In Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Vasiṣṭha explains a Sāṅkhya-style account of manifestation, classifying stages of cosmic evolution and indicating which principles tend to aid knowledge and which tend to entangle beings through ego and ignorance.