Shloka 44
अव्यक्त–पुरुष–विवेकः (Discrimination of Avyakta/Prakṛti and Puruṣa) — Yājñavalkya’s Anvīkṣikī to Viśvāvasu
पज्चविंशो<प्रकृत्यात्मा बुध्यमान इति स्मृत:ः । यदा तु बुध्यते55त्मानं तदा भवति केवल:
pañcaviṁśo ’prakṛtyātmā budhyamāna iti smṛtaḥ | yadā tu budhyate ’tmānaṁ tadā bhavati kevalaḥ ||
पचीसवाँ तत्त्व—आत्मा—‘बुद्धिमान/ज्ञाता’ कहा गया है और वह प्रकृति-स्वरूप नहीं है। जब वह अपने को प्रकृति से सर्वथा भिन्न जानकर जाग्रत होता है, तब वह ‘केवल’ हो जाता है—अपने ही निर्मल स्वरूप में, निष्कलंक परब्रह्म-स्थिति में प्रतिष्ठित।
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The Ātman (Puruṣa), counted as the 25th principle, is not a product of Prakṛti. Liberation (kevalatva/kaivalya) arises when one directly realizes the Self as distinct from Prakṛti and abides in its own pure consciousness.
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Vasiṣṭha instructs on metaphysical discrimination: he defines the Self as the knowing principle beyond material nature and states that true realization culminates in ‘kevala’—the Self’s independent, purified establishment in Brahman.