Shloka 16
Śuka–Janaka Saṃvāda: Āśrama-krama, Jñāna-vijñāna, and the Marks of Liberation (शुक-जनक संवादः)
यथा दीपसहस्राणि दीपान्मर्त्या: प्रकुर्वते । प्रकृतिस्तथा विकुरुते पुरुषस्य गुणान् बहून्,जैसे मनुष्य एक दीपकसे हजारों दीपक जला लेते हैं, उसी प्रकार प्रकृति पुरुषके सम्बन्धसे अनेक गुण उत्पन्न कर देती है
yathā dīpasahasrāṇi dīpān martyāḥ prakurvate | prakṛtis tathā vikurute puruṣasya guṇān bahūn ||
Yājñavalkya said: “Just as mortals light thousands of lamps from a single lamp, so too Prakṛti, in association with Puruṣa, brings forth many qualities and manifestations. From one underlying source, multiplicity appears—yet the originating principle remains unchanged—thereby teaching discernment between the witnessing Self and the produced attributes of nature.”
याज़्वल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Multiplicity of qualities and experiences arises from Prakṛti when it operates in relation to Puruṣa, just as many lamps can be lit from one lamp. The verse points to viveka (discernment): the Self (Puruṣa) is the witness, while the guṇas and their transformations belong to Nature (Prakṛti).
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Yājñavalkya instructs on philosophical discrimination. He uses a simple household metaphor (lighting many lamps from one) to explain how Nature generates many attributes and manifestations without implying that the witnessing principle itself becomes those changes.