Shloka 72
नारद–शुक संवादः
Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga
पश्यंस्तथैव चापश्यन् पश्यत्यन्य: सदानघ । षड्विंशं पञ्चविंशं च चतुर्विशं च पश्यति
paśyaṁstathaiva cāpaśyan paśyatyanyaḥ sadānagha | ṣaḍviṁśaṁ pañcaviṁśaṁ ca caturviśaṁ ca paśyati ||
Ô toi, toujours sans faute : tandis que l’un semble voir et pourtant ne voit pas vraiment, un autre voit en vérité. Un tel voyant discerne les principes supérieurs — le vingt-quatrième, le vingt-cinquième et même le vingt-sixième — distinguant ainsi la matière, le soi intérieur et ce qui les dépasse l’un et l’autre.
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
True perception is not mere sensory seeing; it is discriminative insight that distinguishes the fundamental principles (tattvas). The verse contrasts superficial ‘seeing’ with genuine knowledge that can discern the levels often enumerated as the 24th, 25th, and 26th principles—commonly read as the field of material principles, the individual self (puruṣa), and a transcendent principle beyond.
In the Śānti Parva’s mokṣa-oriented instruction, Yājñavalkya addresses a worthy listener (‘O sinless one’) and explains how different people relate to reality: some appear to perceive but remain ignorant, while the wise truly perceive by understanding the hierarchy of principles underlying experience.