Shloka 70
नारद–शुक संवादः
Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga
अबुध्यमानां प्रकृति बुध्यते पडचरविंशक: । नतु बुध्यति गन्धर्व प्रकृति: पडचविंशकम्,गन्धर्व! प्रकृति जड है, इसलिये उसे पचीसवाँ तत्त्व--जीवात्मा तो जानता है; किंतु प्रकृति जीवात्माको नहीं जानती
abudhyamānāṃ prakṛtiṃ budhyate pañcaviṃśakaḥ | na tu budhyati gandharva prakṛtiḥ pañcaviṃśakam, gandharva |
Dijo Yājñavalkya: «Oh Gandharva, la Prakṛti, carente de conciencia, no conoce; más bien, el vigésimo quinto principio —el Sí mismo consciente— conoce a la Prakṛti. Pero la Prakṛti no conoce al vigésimo quinto. Así, el conocedor es distinto de lo conocido, y la conciencia no puede reducirse a la naturaleza material».
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the Sāṅkhya-style distinction between the conscious knower (the twenty-fifth principle, Puruṣa/Ātman) and unconscious material nature (Prakṛti). The Self can cognize Prakṛti, but Prakṛti—being inert—cannot cognize the Self; therefore consciousness is not a product of matter.
In Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Yājñavalkya addresses a Gandharva and clarifies the relationship between Prakṛti and the twenty-fifth tattva. The statement functions as a doctrinal point within a teaching dialogue aimed at right discernment leading toward liberation.