Shloka 26
Utkramaṇa-sthāna and Ariṣṭa-lakṣaṇa: Yājñavalkya’s Instruction on Departure Pathways and Mortality Signs
अलिज्जत् प्रकृतिर्लिज्जिरुपाल भ्यति सात्मजै: । यथा पुष्पफलैर्नित्यमृतवो 5मूर्तयस्तथा
aliṅgāt prakṛtir liṅgair upalabhyati sātmajaiḥ | yathā puṣpaphalair nityam ṛtavo ’mūrtayas tathā ||
Vasiṣṭha dit : «Bien que Prakṛti soit en elle-même sans marque visible, on l’infère par les indices qu’elle produit (tels que Mahat et les autres). De même que les saisons, sans forme, sont toujours reconnues par les fleurs et les fruits, ainsi Prakṛti devient connaissable par les signes qui naissent d’elle lorsqu’elle entre en conjonction avec le Puruṣa non manifesté.»
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Unseen principles like Prakṛti (and by extension other subtle causes) are known through their consistent effects or ‘liṅgas’—e.g., Mahat and subsequent evolutes. The verse teaches disciplined inference: do not demand gross visibility for subtle realities; understand causes through reliable signs.
In Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Vasiṣṭha explains to his listener how Prakṛti, though unmanifest, can be recognized. He uses the analogy of formless seasons being identified by observable flowers and fruits, paralleling how Prakṛti is inferred from the evolutes that arise when it associates with Puruṣa.