Shloka 4
जनक–सुलभा संवादः
Janaka–Sulabhā Dialogue on Mokṣa and Non-attachment
न त्वेव बुध्यतेडव्यक्तं सगुणं तात निर्गुणम् कदाचित् त्वेव खल्वेतदाहुरप्रतिबुद्धकम्
na tveva budhyate 'vyaktaṃ saguṇaṃ tāta nirguṇam kadācit | tveva khalv etad āhur apratibuddhakaṃ, tāta ||
ਵਸਿਸ਼ਠ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—ਪੁੱਤਰ! ਉਹ ਪਰਮ—ਚਾਹੇ ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਅਵ੍ਯਕਤ ਕਹੋ, ਸਗੁਣ ਕਹੋ ਜਾਂ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ—ਪ੍ਰਕ੍ਰਿਤੀ ਕਦੇ ਵੀ ਯਥਾਰਥ ਤੌਰ ਤੇ ਨਹੀਂ ਜਾਣਦੀ। ਇਸ ਲਈ ਸਾਂਖ੍ਯ ਦੇ ਗਿਆਨੀ ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ‘ਅਪ੍ਰਤਿਬੁੱਧ’ (ਚੇਤਨਾ-ਰਹਿਤ) ਕਹਿੰਦੇ ਹਨ।
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Prakṛti (material nature) is insentient and cannot ‘know’ the Supreme Reality; hence Sāṅkhya thinkers call Prakṛti ‘apratibuddha’—without awakening or consciousness—while true knowing belongs to the conscious principle (Self/Brahman).
In a didactic dialogue, Vasiṣṭha instructs a younger interlocutor, clarifying a Sāṅkhya-style distinction between insentient Prakṛti and the Supreme/Ātman, emphasizing that ultimate reality is not an object grasped by material nature.