Shloka 115
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
एतन्मयोक्तं नरदेव तत्त्व॑ नारायणो विश्वमिदं पुराणम् स सर्गकाले च करोति सर्ग संहारकाले च तदत्ति भूय:
etan mayoktaṃ naradeva tattvaṃ nārāyaṇo viśvam idaṃ purāṇam | sa sargakāle ca karoti sargaṃ saṃhārakāle ca tad atti bhūyaḥ ||
Bhishma berkata: “Wahai raja, inilah prinsip sejati Sāṅkhya yang telah kujelaskan kepadamu. Alam semesta purba ini sesungguhnya adalah Nārāyaṇa sendiri, yang meresapi segalanya. Pada masa penciptaan Ia menampakkan jagat, dan pada masa peleburan Ia menariknya kembali ke dalam diri-Nya. Demikianlah, setelah memuat dunia di dalam keberadaan-Nya sendiri, Tuhan Nārāyaṇa—Ātman terdalam semua makhluk—berbaring dalam hening di atas air samudra kosmik tunggal di antara putaran zaman.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a theistic cosmology: the entire ancient universe is Nārāyaṇa Himself. Creation and dissolution are cyclical acts of the same Supreme Being—He manifests the world at creation and reabsorbs it into Himself at dissolution—implying that all beings rest in and depend upon the one divine reality.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king (Yudhiṣṭhira) on ultimate principles after the war. Here he concludes a doctrinal explanation (linked with Sāṅkhya-style ‘tattva’ discussion) by identifying the cosmic process—sarga and saṃhāra—with Nārāyaṇa’s sovereignty over the universe.