Shloka 7
Saṃhāra-krama (The Sequence of Cosmic Dissolution) — Yājñavalkya’s Discourse
अपने-अपने पक्षमें युक्तियुक्त कारण ग्राह्म होता है तथा सिद्धान्तके अनुकूल हितकारक वचन मानने योग्य समझा जाता है। शिष्ट पुरुषोंद्वारा सम्मानित तुम-जैसे लोगोंको श्रेष्ठ पुरुषोंका ही मत ग्रहण करना चाहिये ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | pratyakṣe tvāṃ yogāḥ sāṅkhyāḥ śāstra-viniścayāḥ | ubhe caite mate tattve mama tāta yudhiṣṭhira ||
प्रत्यक्षे तव योगाः प्रमाणं प्रायशो मताः। सांख्याः शास्त्रविनिश्चये प्रमाणं परिकीर्तिताः॥ उभे चैते मते तत्त्वे मम तात युधिष्ठिर। तस्माद् युक्तियुक्तं हितं च सिद्धान्तानुगतं वचः। शिष्टानां मतमेवात्र ग्राह्यं शिष्टसम्मतैः॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma affirms that different orthodox paths can be valid: Yoga tends to privilege direct perception/experience, while Sāṅkhya emphasizes scriptural and doctrinal certainty. He advises accepting views that are well-reasoned, beneficial, and endorsed by the wise.
During Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira in the Śānti Parva, he addresses a philosophical question about competing doctrines. He explains how Yoga and Sāṅkhya differ in their preferred sources of knowledge, yet both can be true in their own way.