Shloka 22
Adhyāya 353 — Kathā-prāmāṇya (Authority of Transmission) and the Brāhmaṇa’s Ascetic Resolve
चतुर्विभक्त: पुरुष: स क्रीडति यथेच्छति । एवं स भगवान् स्वेन ज्ञानेन प्रतिबोधित:
caturvibhaktaḥ puruṣaḥ sa krīḍati yathecchati | evaṁ sa bhagavān svena jñānena pratibodhitaḥ ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Sang Purusha Tertinggi, terbagi menjadi empat vyūha, ber-līlā dengan bebas menurut kehendak-Nya. Demikian pula, Sang Bhagavān disadari melalui pengetahuan-Nya sendiri—bercahaya oleh diri-Nya, tersingkap oleh diri-Nya.”
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the Supreme Lord manifests in a fourfold way and acts in the world by His own free will (divine play). He is ultimately known not through external means alone but because His own consciousness/knowledge reveals Him—He is self-luminous and self-disclosing.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and higher truths. Here he describes the Lord’s fourfold manifestation (often explained as the caturvyūha beginning with Vāsudeva) and emphasizes that realization of the Lord occurs through the Lord’s own power of knowledge.