Shloka 4
जनक–सुलभा संवादः
Janaka–Sulabhā Dialogue on Mokṣa and Non-attachment
न त्वेव बुध्यतेडव्यक्तं सगुणं तात निर्गुणम् कदाचित् त्वेव खल्वेतदाहुरप्रतिबुद्धकम्,तात! परब्रह्म परमात्मा सगुण हो या निर्मुण, उसे प्रकृति कभी नहीं जानती (क्योंकि वह जड है), अतः सांख्यवादी विद्वान् इस प्रकृतिको अप्रतिबुद्ध (ज्ञानशून्य) कहते हैं
na tveva budhyate 'vyaktaṃ saguṇaṃ tāta nirguṇam kadācit | tveva khalv etad āhur apratibuddhakaṃ, tāta ||
Vasiṣṭha said: “But indeed, dear one, Prakṛti never truly apprehends that Supreme—whether spoken of as unmanifest, as possessed of qualities, or as beyond qualities. Therefore the Sāṅkhya-knowing sages describe this Prakṛti as ‘unawakened’ (without consciousness).”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Prakṛti (material nature) is insentient and cannot ‘know’ the Supreme Reality; hence Sāṅkhya thinkers call Prakṛti ‘apratibuddha’—without awakening or consciousness—while true knowing belongs to the conscious principle (Self/Brahman).
In a didactic dialogue, Vasiṣṭha instructs a younger interlocutor, clarifying a Sāṅkhya-style distinction between insentient Prakṛti and the Supreme/Ātman, emphasizing that ultimate reality is not an object grasped by material nature.