Shloka 25
Vyaktāvyakta-Viveka and Nivṛtti as Paramā Gati
Manifest–Unmanifest Discrimination and the Supreme Path of Withdrawal
पुरुषाधिछितान् भावान् प्रकृति: सूयते यदा । हेतुयुक्तमत: पूर्व जगत् सम्परिवर्तते
puruṣādhiṣṭhitān bhāvān prakṛtiḥ sūyate yadā | hetuyuktam ataḥ pūrvaṁ jagat samparivartate ||
Bhīṣma dit : Lorsque la Nature (prakṛti) fait naître les divers états et formes placés sous la présidence de la Personne (puruṣa), c’est la Nature seule qui façonne la multiplicité des objets conçus par l’entremise de cette Personne. De cette Nature surgit d’abord le monde avec son ordre de causes; puis l’univers poursuit ses transformations cycliques.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a Sāṅkhya-style account: the conscious principle (puruṣa) provides superintendence/intent, while prakṛti is the productive power that actually manifests the world. The universe arises with an intelligible causal structure (hetuyukta) and then continues through cyclical transformations.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhīṣma explains to Yudhiṣṭhira the metaphysical basis of creation—how prakṛti, under the presiding presence of puruṣa, produces the manifold world and how that world proceeds through ongoing cycles of change.