Shloka 5
अव्यक्त–पुरुष–विवेकः (Discrimination of Avyakta/Prakṛti and Puruṣa) — Yājñavalkya’s Anvīkṣikī to Viśvāvasu
विद्याविद्ये च भगवन्नक्षरं क्षरमेव च । साड्ख्यं योगं च कार्त्स्न्येन पृथक् चैवापूथक् च ह,भगवन! मैं विद्या, अविद्या, अक्षर और क्षर तथा सांख्य और योगको पृथक्-पृथक् पूर्णरूपसे समझना चाहता हूँ
Janaka uvāca: vidyāvidye ca bhagavann akṣaraṃ kṣaram eva ca | sāṅkhyaṃ yogaṃ ca kārtsnyena pṛthak caivāpṛthak ca ha ||
O venerable one, I wish to understand fully—both distinctly and also in their deeper non-separation—knowledge and ignorance, the imperishable (akṣara) and the perishable (kṣara), and likewise Sāṅkhya and Yoga.
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a philosophical inquiry: Janaka asks for a complete explanation of paired concepts—knowledge/ignorance, imperishable/perishable, and Sāṅkhya/Yoga—both as distinct analytical categories and as ultimately reconcilable in higher understanding. It signals that liberation-oriented teaching must clarify differences while also showing their convergence in realized wisdom.
In the Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, King Janaka addresses a revered teacher and requests systematic guidance. He is not asking for mere definitions, but for a comprehensive account that explains how these doctrines and metaphysical categories relate—where they differ in method and where they meet in the goal of freedom from bondage.