नारद–शुक संवादः
Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga
चलां तु प्रकृतिं प्राहु: कारणं क्षयसर्गयो: । आक्षेपसर्गयो: कर्ता निश्चल: पुरुष: स्मृत:
calāṃ tu prakṛtiṃ prāhuḥ kāraṇaṃ kṣaya-sargayoḥ | ākṣepa-sargayoḥ kartā niścalāḥ puruṣaḥ smṛtaḥ ||
Prakṛti disebut “bergerak/berubah”, sebab dialah dasar kausal bagi penciptaan dan peleburan. Adapun Puruṣa dikenang sebagai “tak bergerak”—sebagai pelaku berkenaan dengan pemancaran dan perwujudan—tetap tak berubah ketika proses itu berlangsung.
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
The verse distinguishes two principles: Prakṛti is changeful and serves as the causal ground for creation and dissolution, while Puruṣa is essentially unmoving/unchanging, associated with agency in manifestation without itself undergoing transformation.
In Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Yājñavalkya explains a Sāṅkhya-style framework to clarify how cosmic processes (sṛṣṭi and pralaya) relate to the material principle (Prakṛti) and the conscious principle (Puruṣa).