Shloka 5
ब्रह्मघोष-प्रवर्तनम्, अनध्याय-नियमः, वायु-मार्ग-वर्णनम्
Restoring Vedic Recitation, the Anadhyaya Rule, and the Taxonomy of Winds
अनेन कारणेनैतदव्यक्तं स्यादचेतनम् | नित्यत्वाच्चाक्षरत्वाच्च क्षरत्वान्न तवनन््यथा
anena kāraṇenaitad avyaktam syād acetanam | nityatvāc cākṣaratvāc ca kṣaratvān na tavan anyathā ||
ヤージュニャヴァルキヤは言った。「このゆえに、未顕（プラクリティ）は無覚のものと理解される。『クシャラ』（kṣara、壊れゆくもの）であるがゆえに、それは惰性的な物質以外ではありえない。これに対し、プルシャは常住にして『アクシャラ』（akṣara、不壊）であるがゆえに、覚知を有する。」
याज़्वल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes Prakṛti (the Unmanifest) as insentient because it is perishable and changeable (kṣara), while Puruṣa is conscious because it is eternal and imperishable (nitya, akṣara). This supports a metaphysical dualism used for discernment leading toward liberation.
In Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, the sage Yājñavalkya explains to his interlocutor the criteria by which one identifies Prakṛti as inert and Puruṣa as conscious, clarifying the foundational categories for spiritual discrimination and ethical steadiness.