Shloka 17
अव्यक्त–पुरुष–विवेकः (Discrimination of Avyakta/Prakṛti and Puruṣa) — Yājñavalkya’s Anvīkṣikī to Viśvāvasu
न चाभिमन्यते किंचिन्न च बुध्यति काषठवत् । तदा प्रकृतिमापन्नं युक्तमाहुर्मनीषिण:
na cābhimanyate kiṃcin na ca budhyati kāṣṭhavat | tadā prakṛtim āpannaṃ yuktam āhur manīṣiṇaḥ ||
वसिष्ठ बोले—जब वह किसी वस्तु का अभिमान नहीं करता और काठ की भाँति कुछ भी नहीं जानता-सा रहता है, तब मनीषी कहते हैं कि वह अपने स्वभाव (मूल प्रकृति) को प्राप्त होकर योगयुक्त हो गया है।
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines a hallmark of yogic integration: the cessation of possessive identification (abhimāna) and reactive cognition, so that one abides in one’s own nature (prakṛti) without mental constructions. Ethically, it points to freedom from ‘mine-ness’ and ego-driven grasping, which stabilizes conduct and reduces harm.
Vasiṣṭha is instructing about inner realization and the yogic condition. He describes a state where the senses and mind no longer project outward and the person remains unmoved—‘like wood’—not as dullness, but as non-reactive steadiness that the wise recognize as true yoga and return to one’s pure nature.