Shloka 5
जनक–सुलभा संवादः
Janaka–Sulabhā Dialogue on Mokṣa and Non-attachment
बुध्यते यदि वाव्यक्तमेतद् वै पजचविंशकम् । बुध्यमानो भवत्येव सज्भात्मक इति श्रुति: । अनेनाप्रतिबुद्धेति वदन्त्यव्यक्तमच्युतम्
budhyate yadi vāvyaktam etad vai pañcaviṁśakam | budhyamāno bhavaty eva saṅghātmaka iti śrutiḥ | anenāpratibuddheti vadanty avyaktam acyutam |
वसिष्ठ बोले—यदि यह मान लिया जाए कि अव्यक्त प्रकृति ‘जानती’ है, तो उसका जानना केवल पचीसवें तत्त्व—पुरुष—के द्वारा, उससे संयुक्त होकर ही संभव है। प्रकृति के संग से ही जीव ‘सङ्घात्मक’ (समूहों से बँधा) हो जाता है—ऐसा श्रुति का वचन है। और इसी संग-दोष के कारण लोग अव्यक्त, अविकारी आत्मा को भी ‘अप्रतिबुद्ध’ या ‘मूढ़’ कह देते हैं, यद्यपि वह अच्युत है।
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Cognition and agency are wrongly attributed to Prakṛti; in Sāṅkhya terms, ‘knowing’ pertains to Puruṣa (the 25th principle). The jīva appears bound and ‘deluded’ only due to association (saṅga) with Prakṛti and its aggregates; the Self itself remains unchanging.
In Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Vasiṣṭha clarifies a subtle point about consciousness: if the unmanifest Prakṛti is said to ‘know’, that knowing is actually the reflected/associated knowing of Puruṣa. He explains how misidentification through association leads people to label the immutable Self as ignorant.