Shloka 1
Utkramaṇa-sthāna and Ariṣṭa-lakṣaṇa: Yājñavalkya’s Instruction on Departure Pathways and Mortality Signs
ऑपन-आ करा (_ अ-्---क्ााज पञज्चाधिकत्रिशततमोब< ध्याय: क्षर-अक्षर एवं प्रकृति-पुरुषके विषयमें राजा जनककी शंका और उसका वसिष्ठजीद्धारा उत्तर जनक उवाच अक्षरक्षरयोरेष द्वयो: सम्बन्ध इष्यते । स्त्रीपुंसोर्वापि भगवन् सम्बन्धस्तद्वदुच्यते,राजा जनकने कहा--भगवन्! क्षर और अक्षर (प्रकृति और पुरुष) दोनोंका यह सम्बन्ध वैसा ही माना जाता है, जैसा कि नारी और पुरुषका दाम्पत्य-सम्बन्ध बताया जाता है
Janaka uvāca: kṣara-akṣarayor eṣa dvayoḥ sambandha iṣyate | strī-puṁsor vāpi bhagavan sambandhas tadvad ucyate ||
King Janaka said: “Revered sir, it is held that there is a relation between these two—the perishable and the imperishable (prakṛti and puruṣa). Is that relation to be understood as analogous to the marital bond between woman and man?”
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a philosophical inquiry: how the mutable (kṣara/prakṛti) and the immutable (akṣara/puruṣa) are connected. By proposing the analogy of husband–wife, Janaka seeks clarity on whether their linkage is intimate yet distinct—an important step toward understanding bondage and liberation.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction section, King Janaka addresses the sage Vasiṣṭha with a doubt. He asks whether the accepted relation between kṣara and akṣara is like the conjugal relation between woman and man, setting up Vasiṣṭha’s forthcoming explanation.