Shloka 36
नारद–शुक संवादः
Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga
नृपश्रेष्ठ! यह आन्वीक्षिकी विद्या (त्रयी
nṛpaśreṣṭha! iyaṃ ānvīkṣikī vidyā (trayī-vārtā-daṇḍanīti—etāsu tisṛṣu vidyāsu apekṣayā) caturthī proktā. eṣā mokṣe sahāyinī. pañcaviṃśe tattvarūpe puruṣeṇa adhiṣṭhitāṃ tāṃ vidyāṃ mayā te pratipāditā (sā viśvāvasoḥ samīpe’pi kathitā) || athoktas tu mayā rājan rājā viśvāvāsuḥ tadā | śrūyatāṃ yad bhavān asmān praśnaṃ sampṛṣṭavān iha ||
“O best of kings, this discipline called Ānvīkṣikī—counted as the fourth learning in relation to the three (the Vedic triad, economics, and statecraft)—is declared to be a helper on the path to liberation. I have already expounded to you that knowledge which is grounded in the twenty-fifth principle, the Puruṣa; the same teaching was also spoken in the presence of King Viśvāvasu. Then, O king, I addressed King Viśvāvasu: ‘O lord of the Gandharvas, listen now to the reply to the question you have asked me here.’”
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ānvīkṣikī—disciplined philosophical inquiry—is presented as a distinct and superior aid to mokṣa, because it is grounded in knowledge of Puruṣa (the 25th principle), i.e., the conscious self that underlies and transcends material categories.
Yājñavalkya reminds the king that he has already taught this liberating inquiry and notes that the same doctrine was taught earlier to the Gandharva king Viśvāvasu; he then transitions into addressing Viśvāvasu directly, inviting him to hear the answer to his question.