नारद–शुक संवादः
Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga
ज्ञान ज्ञेयं तथा ज्ञो$ज्ञ: कस्तपा अतपास्तथा | सूर्याति सूर्य इति च विद्याविद्ये तथैव च
jñānaṃ jñeyaṃ tathā jño ’jñaḥ kas tapā atapās tathā | sūryāti-sūrya iti ca vidyāvidye tathaiva ca ||
Yājñavalkya berkata: “(Engkau bertanya:) Apakah pengetahuan, dan apakah yang dapat diketahui? Siapakah sang mengetahui, dan siapakah yang bodoh? Siapakah yang sungguh bertapa, dan siapakah yang tanpa tapa? Siapakah ‘matahari’, dan siapakah ‘melampaui matahari’? Demikian pula, apakah vidyā dan apakah avidyā?”
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
The verse frames a systematic set of philosophical distinctions—knowledge/knowable, knower/ignorant, true austerity/false austerity, and vidyā/avidyā—implying that ethical and spiritual progress depends on correct discernment of these categories.
Yājñavalkya is responding in a didactic setting within Śānti Parva, restating a sequence of questions that guide the forthcoming explanation of metaphysical and ethical fundamentals.