Shloka 35
एकत्वं च बहुत्वं च प्रकृतेरर्थतत्त्ववान् । एकत्वं प्रलये चास्य बहुत्वं च प्रवर्तनात्
ekatvaṃ ca bahutvaṃ ca prakṛter arthatattvavān | ekatvaṃ pralaye cāsya bahutvaṃ ca pravartanāt ||
Vasiṣṭha said: “One who truly understands the reality and purpose of Prakṛti recognizes both its oneness and its multiplicity. In dissolution it is one, gathered back into unity; but when the process of manifestation begins, it appears as many.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Prakṛti can be understood in two complementary ways: as one undivided principle in cosmic dissolution (pralaya), and as many diverse forms when manifestation is set in motion. Wisdom lies in seeing unity behind multiplicity without denying the experienced diversity of the world.
In Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Vasiṣṭha is teaching a metaphysical point about the nature of reality: how the manifest world of many forms arises from, and returns to, a single underlying principle (Prakṛti), framing a contemplative basis for detachment and right understanding.