Shloka 45

नारद–शुक संवादः

Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga

Devanagari script

अजौ नित्यावुभौ प्राहुरध्यात्मगतिनिश्चया:

Transliteration

ajau nityāv ubhau prāhur adhyātma-gati-niścayāḥ |

avyaktā prakṛtir vedyā puruṣo ’vedya ucyate |

prakṛtiṃ puruṣaṃ caiva vidvān āhur ajau sthirau |

akṣayau cāpy ajau nityau ||

Translation

Yājñavalkya said: Those sages who have reached firm certainty about the inner path declare that both are unborn and eternal. The unmanifest Prakṛti can be known (as an object of understanding), whereas the Puruṣa is said to be unknowable (not graspable as an object). The wise affirm that Prakṛti and Puruṣa are both unborn, unmoving, imperishable, and everlasting—thus directing the seeker away from clinging to changing appearances and toward steady insight into the foundations of experience.

Word by Word

• {'ajau (aja)': 'unborn

• not produced', 'nityau (nitya)': 'eternal

• constant', 'ubhau': 'both (of them)', 'prāhuḥ': 'they declare

• they say', 'adhyātma': 'pertaining to the self/inner reality

• spiritual', 'gati': 'path

• attainment', 'niścayāḥ': 'those with certainty

• firmly ascertained', 'avyaktā': 'unmanifest

• not evident to the senses', 'prakṛtiḥ': 'primordial nature

• material principle', 'vedyā': 'knowable

• to be understood', 'puruṣaḥ': 'conscious principle

• the Self', 'avedyaḥ': 'unknowable as an object

• not an object of cognition', 'vidvān/vidvāṃsaḥ': 'the wise

• learned person(s)', 'sthirau': 'steady

• unmoving', 'akṣayau': 'imperishable

Speaker

याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yājñavalkya
• Prakṛti
• Puruṣa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse distinguishes between Prakṛti (the unmanifest source of material experience, knowable as an object of analysis) and Puruṣa (pure consciousness, not objectifiable). Both are described as unborn, eternal, steady, and imperishable, encouraging detachment from transient phenomena and steadiness in inner inquiry.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Yājñavalkya delivers a doctrinal clarification to seekers: he summarizes how realized thinkers characterize the two fundamental principles—Prakṛti and Puruṣa—framing the contemplative path (adhyātma-gati) in terms of what can be known and what transcends object-knowledge.