Shloka 4
ब्रह्मघोष-प्रवर्तनम्, अनध्याय-नियमः, वायु-मार्ग-वर्णनम्
Restoring Vedic Recitation, the Anadhyaya Rule, and the Taxonomy of Winds
अव्यक्तस्तु न जानीते पुरुषो ज्ञ: स्वभावत: । न मत्त: परमो<स्तीति नित्यमेवाभिमन्यते
avyaktas tu na jānīte puruṣo jñaḥ svabhāvataḥ | na mattaḥ paramo 'stīti nityam evābhimanyate ||
Yājñavalkya dit : «Le Non-manifesté (Prakṛti) ne connaît pas véritablement ; mais le Puruṣa, par sa nature même, est le connaissant. Il entretient sans cesse cette conviction : “Il n’est rien de supérieur à moi.”»
याज़्वल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes unconscious Nature (Avyakta/Prakṛti), which does not ‘know’, from the conscious Self (Puruṣa), which is inherently the knower. It also highlights the Puruṣa’s self-assertion of supremacy, inviting reflection on how true discernment differs from egoic self-conceit.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on liberation-oriented philosophy, Yājñavalkya is explaining metaphysical categories—Prakṛti and Puruṣa—and their characteristics, as part of a broader teaching on discrimination (viveka) and the path to inner peace after the war.