Shloka 40
Nārada’s Darśana of Viśvarūpa Nārāyaṇa and the Caturmūrti Doctrine (नारदस्य नारायणदर्शनं चतुर्मूर्तिविचारश्च)
तम: परिगतं वेश्म यथा दीपेन दृश्यते । तथा बुद्धिप्रदीपेन शक््य आत्मा निरीक्षितुम्,जैसे अन्धकारसे आच्छादित हुआ घर दीपकके प्रकाशसे देखा जाता है, उसी प्रकार अज्ञानान्धकारसे आवृत हुए आत्माका विशुद्ध बुद्धिरूपी दीपकके द्वारा साक्षात्कार किया जा सकता है
tamaḥ parigataṁ veśma yathā dīpena dṛśyate | tathā buddhi-pradīpena śakya ātmā nirīkṣitum ||
Janaka teaches that just as a house covered in darkness becomes visible by the light of a lamp, so too the Self—veiled by the darkness of ignorance—can be directly discerned through the lamp of purified intellect.
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The Self is not grasped by external means; it is revealed when ignorance (tamas) is dispelled by the illuminating power of purified intellect (buddhi) functioning as a lamp—i.e., discriminative knowledge leading to direct insight.
King Janaka is speaking in a didactic context within Śānti Parva, using a simple analogy (lamp and dark house) to explain how inner illumination through buddhi enables realization of the Ātman obscured by ignorance.