Shloka 2
जनमेजयने पूछा--ब्रह्मन! पुरुष अनेक हैं या एक? इस जगत्में कौन पुरुष सबसे श्रेष्ठ है? अथवा किसे यहाँ सबकी उत्पत्तिका स्थान बताया जाता है? ।। वैशम्पायन उवाच बहव: पुरुषा लोके सांख्ययोगविचारणे । नैतदिच्छन्ति पुरुषमेक॑ कुरुकुलोद्धह,वैशम्पायनजीने कहा--कुरुकुलका भार वहन करनेवाले नरेश! सांख्य और योगकी विचारधाराके अनुसार इस जगतमें पुरुष अनेक हैं। वे 'एकपुरुषवाद” नहीं स्वीकार करते हैं
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: Bahavaḥ puruṣā loke sāṅkhyayogavicāraṇe; na etad icchanti puruṣam ekaṃ Kurukuloddhaha.
Vaiśampāyana said: “O upholder of the Kuru line, in this world—according to the reflective traditions of Sāṅkhya and Yoga—there are many ‘puruṣas’ (selves). Those thinkers do not accept the doctrine that there is only one single Puruṣa.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states that, in Sāṅkhya-Yoga philosophical inquiry, the conscious selves (puruṣas) are regarded as many, and the view of a single, universal Puruṣa is not accepted in that framework.
In the Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Janamejaya’s question about whether the ‘puruṣa’ is one or many is being answered by Vaiśampāyana, who reports the Sāṅkhya-Yoga position: plurality of puruṣas.