Shloka 47
Jarā-Mṛtyu-anatikrama: Janaka–Pañcaśikha-saṃvāda
Aging and Death Cannot Be Overstepped
पज्चविंशात् परं तत्त्वं पठ्यते न नराधिप । सांख्यानां तु परं तत्त्व यथावदनुवर्णितम्,नरेश्वर! सांख्यशास्त्रके आचार्य पचीसवें तत्त्वसे परे और किसी तत्त्वका वर्णन नहीं करते हैं। यह मैंने सांख्योंके परम तत्त्वका यथावत्रूपसे वर्णन किया है
pañcaviṁśāt paraṁ tattvaṁ paṭhyate na narādhipa | sāṅkhyānāṁ tu paraṁ tattvaṁ yathāvad anūvarṇitam, nareśvara ||
वसिष्ठ उवाच—नराधिप! पञ्चविंशात् परं तत्त्वं न पठ्यते। नरेश्वर! सांख्याचार्यैः यथावदनुक्रमेण यत् परं तत्त्वं प्रतिपादितं, तदेव मया सम्यगनुवर्णितम्॥
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a Sāṅkhya doctrinal boundary: the tradition enumerates principles (tattvas) up to twenty-five, and it does not posit an additional, separate principle beyond that count. Vasiṣṭha claims he has presented this ‘highest truth’ faithfully and in proper order.
In the Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Vasiṣṭha addresses a king and concludes a philosophical exposition by emphasizing that Sāṅkhya teachers stop their metaphysical enumeration at the twenty-fifth principle, presenting this as the completed and authoritative account.