Shloka 15
Jāpakānāṃ Gatiḥ — The Destinies of Japa-Practitioners (Śānti Parva 12.190)
इन्द्रियैर्गह्यते यद् यत् तत्तद् व्यक्तमिति स्थिति: । अव्यक्तमिति विज्ञेयं लिड़ग्राह्म॒मतीन्द्रियम्
indriyair gṛhyate yad yat tat tad vyaktam iti sthitiḥ | avyaktam iti vijñeyaṁ liṅgagrāhyam atīndriyam ||
इन्द्रियैर्गह्यते यद्यत् तत्तद् व्यक्तमिति स्थितिः । अव्यक्तमिति विज्ञेयं लिङ्गग्राह्यमतीन्द्रियम् ॥
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
It defines two domains of knowledge: the manifest (vyakta), directly known through sensory perception, and the unmanifest (avyakta), which is beyond sensory reach and therefore known only indirectly through inference from indicators (liṅga).
In the didactic discourse of Śānti Parva, Bharadvāja is explaining a philosophical distinction used in ethical and spiritual inquiry: how one should classify and know reality—by direct perception for the manifest and by inferential reasoning for what transcends the senses.