Shloka 7
बलीन्द्रसंवादः — Kāla, Anityatā, and the Limits of Agency
Mahābhārata 12.217
अनाद्यन्तावुभावेतावलिज्री चाप्युभावपि
bhīṣma uvāca | anādyantāv ubhāv etāv aliṅgau cāpy ubhāv api | ye prakṛtiś ca puruṣaś ca (jīvātmā) ubhau anādi-anantau | ubhau aliṅgau nirākārau ca | ubhau nityau avicalau mahato 'pi mahāntau | etāni sarvāṇi dharmāḥ ubhayor api samānarūpeṇa dṛśyante | kintu tayor yaḥ antaraḥ yā vā vailakṣaṇyaṃ tat anyad eva, yat pratipādyate ||
ಪ್ರಕೃತಿ ಮತ್ತು ಪುರುಷ—ಇಬ್ಬರೂ ಅನಾದಿ, ಅನಂತರು; ಇಬ್ಬರೂ ಅಲಿಂಗ, ನಿರಾಕಾರರು।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that Prakriti (nature) and Purusha (the conscious self) share many ‘transcendent’ descriptors—beginningless, endless, formless, eternal—yet liberation-oriented inquiry depends on grasping their real distinction. The verse sets up a careful discrimination (viveka) between the material principle and the conscious principle.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on peace and higher wisdom, Bhishma continues his philosophical discourse, introducing a key doctrinal point: although Prakriti and the individual self can be described with similar lofty attributes, the decisive difference between them must be articulated to understand reality and the path toward moksha.