Shloka 63
बलीन्द्रसंवादः — Kāla, Anityatā, and the Limits of Agency
Mahābhārata 12.217
त॑ विशेषमवेक्षेत विशेषेण विचक्षण: । इस प्रकार विचारशील पुरुषको चाहिये कि वह पहले अव्यक्तः (प्रकृति) और पुरुष (जीवात्मा)--इन दोनोंका ज्ञान प्राप्त करे; फिर इन दोनोंसे श्रेष्ठ जो परम महान् पुरुषोत्तम तत्त्व है, उसका विशेषरूपसे ज्ञान प्राप्त करे
taṁ viśeṣam avekṣeta viśeṣeṇa vicakṣaṇaḥ |
तं विशेषमवेक्षेत विशेषेण विचक्षणः ।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Begin with discriminative knowledge of the two foundational principles—Unmanifest Nature (avyakta/prakṛti) and the conscious self (puruṣa/jīva)—and then, by sharper discernment, realize the supreme reality that transcends both: the Puruṣottama.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira by outlining a graded contemplative approach: understand prakṛti and the individual self first, then pursue the higher realization of the Supreme Person beyond them.