Shloka 25

Devanagari script

एतस्याद्या प्रवृत्तिस्तु प्रधानात्‌ सम्प्रवर्तते । द्वितीया मिथुनव्यक्तिमविशेषान्नियच्छति,बुद्धि आदि तत्त्वसमूहकी प्रथम सृष्टि प्रकृतिसे ही हुई है। तदनन्तर दूसरी बारसे उनकी सामान्यतः मैथून-धर्मसे नियमपूर्वक अभिव्यक्ति होने लगी है

Transliteration

etasyādyā pravṛttis tu pradhānāt sampravartate | dvitīyā mithuna-vyaktim aviśeṣān niyacchati ||

Translation

Бхишма сказал: «Первое развертывание этой совокупности начал исходит из Прадханы (первоприроды). Затем, на втором этапе, их проявление упорядочивается: выходя из неразличенного состояния, они выражаются попарно (мужское–женское) по закону рождения».

Word by Word

एतस्यof this

आद्याthe first

प्रवृत्तिःactivity; origination; manifestation

तुbut; indeed

प्रधानात्from Pradhāna (primordial nature)

सम्प्रवर्ततेarises; proceeds; comes into operation

द्वितीयाthe second

मिथुनby pairing; by sexual union (as a principle)

व्यक्तिम्manifestation; expression

अविशेषात्from the undifferentiated state; from non-distinction

नियच्छतिrestrains; regulates; brings under rule

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Pradhāna (Prakṛti)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Creation is described in a Sāṅkhya framework: the first emergence of principles originates from Pradhāna (primordial Nature), and subsequent manifestation becomes ordered and differentiated, notably through paired (male–female) generative expression.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction, Bhīṣma explains to his listener a two-stage account of manifestation: first, the rise of tattvas from Prakṛti/Pradhāna; second, their regulated differentiation from an undifferentiated condition into the structured world of generation.