Shloka 18
Adhyāya 353 — Kathā-prāmāṇya (Authority of Transmission) and the Brāhmaṇa’s Ascetic Resolve
द्रष्टा द्रष्टव्यं श्राविता श्रवणीयं ज्ञाताज्ञेयं सगुणं निर्गुणं च यद् वै प्रोक्ते तात सम्यक् प्रधान नित्यं चैतच्छाश्वूतं चाव्ययं च
drašṭā draṣṭavyaṁ śrāvitā śravaṇīyaṁ jñātājñeyaṁ saguṇaṁ nirguṇaṁ ca yad vai prokte tāta samyak pradhānaṁ nityaṁ caitac chāśvataṁ cāvyayaṁ ca
Bhīṣma said: The same Reality is the seer and what is to be seen; the one who causes hearing and what is to be heard; the knower and what is to be known; and It is both with attributes and beyond attributes. Dear child, what is rightly spoken of as the Pradhāna (the primordial principle) is in truth this very Puruṣa. This principle is eternal, everlasting, and imperishable.
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the all-encompassing nature of the highest Reality: it is simultaneously subject and object (seer/seen, knower/known), and it transcends the opposition of saguṇa and nirguṇa. It further identifies what is called Pradhāna with Puruṣa, emphasizing an ultimate, eternal, imperishable principle underlying all experience.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma (lying on the bed of arrows) instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and liberation. Here he shifts to a metaphysical exposition, describing the supreme principle in comprehensive terms and reconciling philosophical categories (Pradhāna/Puruṣa; saguṇa/nirguṇa) to guide the listener toward liberating understanding.