Shloka 4
भिक्षुलक्षणम्—एकचर्याः, अहिंसा, कैवल्याश्रमः
Marks of the Mendicant: Solitary Wandering, Non-Injury, and the Kaivalya-Discipline
येषां चैकान्तभावेन स्वभावात् कारणं मतम् | पूत्वा तृणमिषीकां वा ते लभन्ते न किंचन
yeṣāṃ caikāntabhāvena svabhāvāt kāraṇaṃ matam | pūtvā tṛṇamiṣīkāṃ vā te labhante na kiṃcana ||
Vyāsa dit : «Il en est qui, avec une intransigeance absolue, soutiennent que la “nature” (svabhāva) seule est cause, et qu’il n’existe aucune cause au-delà d’elle. Pourtant, parce qu’une chose n’est pas saisie par les sens, il n’est pas raisonnable d’en conclure qu’il n’y a pas de cause supérieure, telle que le Seigneur. Car lorsqu’on fend un brin d’herbe muñja, ne découvre-t-on pas la fine fibre intérieure (iṣīkā) qui, auparavant, demeurait invisible ? De même, bien que le Soi suprême qui pénètre le monde entier ne soit pas visible aux sens, il est assurément réalisé par une connaissance plus haute, de nature divine.»
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sense-nonperception is not a valid proof of nonexistence: just as a subtle fiber inside grass becomes evident when the stalk is split, the Supreme Self/Lord—though not seen by ordinary senses—can be realized through higher knowledge. The verse critiques an absolutist ‘svabhāva alone is the cause’ position when it is used to deny any transcendent principle.
In Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Vyāsa addresses a doctrinal view that reduces causality to mere nature (svabhāva). He counters it with a concrete analogy (splitting grass to reveal an unseen inner strand) to argue that unseen realities may still be discoverable by appropriate means of knowledge.