Shloka 26
Vyaktāvyakta-Viveka and Nivṛtti as Paramā Gati
Manifest–Unmanifest Discrimination and the Supreme Path of Withdrawal
दीपादन्ये यथा दीपा: प्रवर्तन्ते सहस्रश: । प्रकृति: सूयते तद्धदानन्त्यान् नापचीयते
dīpād anye yathā dīpāḥ pravartante sahasraśaḥ | prakṛtiḥ sūyate tad dhadānantyān nāpacīyate ||
Bhīṣma dit : «De même que d’une seule lampe on peut allumer d’innombrables lampes, ainsi Prakṛti engendre sans cesse des formes multiples. Et, tout en produisant cette infinité, elle ne s’en trouve pas diminuée.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the generative source (Prakṛti) can produce innumerable effects without losing its own fullness—like one lamp lighting many others without its flame being reduced. It supports a causal view where manifestation does not imply depletion of the underlying principle.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and higher knowledge. Here he uses a vivid analogy—lamps kindled from a lamp—to explain how the world’s multiplicity arises from Prakṛti while the originating principle remains undiminished.