Shloka 17
Nāgendra–Brāhmaṇa Saṃvāda: Praśna-vidhi and Dharmic Approach on the Gomatī Riverbank
तमसो ब्रह्म सम्भूतं तमोमूलामृतात्मकम् । तद्विश्चभावसंज्ञान्तं पौरुषी तनुमाश्रितम्
tamasaḥ brahma sambhūtaṃ tamomūlāmṛtātmakam | tadviśvabhāvasaṃjñāntaṃ pauruṣīṃ tanum āśritam ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : De l’obscurité (tamas), Brahman est dit s’être manifesté — ayant pour racine le principe même de l’obscurité, et étant de la nature de l’essence immortelle (amṛta). Cette Réalité, connue comme le fondement de tous les états de l’univers, demeure en prenant refuge dans le corps de la Personne cosmique (la forme universelle).
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a cosmological-metaphysical account: the supreme principle (Brahman) is described in relation to tamas (the obscuring, undifferentiated principle) and amṛta (the deathless essence). It suggests that the ground of reality, while transcendent, is also the basis of universal manifestation and is spoken of as abiding in the cosmic form (Puruṣa), linking ultimate reality with the manifested universe.
In the didactic discourse of Śānti Parva, Vaiśampāyana continues an exposition on first principles—how the universe is accounted for in terms of fundamental categories (tamas, amṛta, Brahman/Puruṣa). The focus is not on external action but on explaining the metaphysical basis of creation and the relation between the unmanifest and the manifest.