Shloka 14
धर्मद्वारबहुत्वविमर्शः — Reflection on the Many ‘Doors’ of Dharma (Śānti-parva 342)
प्रकृति: सा परा महां रोदसी योगधारिणी । ऋता सत्यामराजय्या लोकानामात्मसंज्ञिता,बुद्धिमानोंमें श्रेष्ठ अर्जुन! अठारह- गुणोंवाला जो सत्त्व है अर्थात् आदिपुरुष है, वही मेरी परा प्रकृति है। पृथ्वी और आकाशकी आत्मस्वरूपा वह योगबलसे समस्त लोकोंको धारण करनेवाली है। वही ऋता (कर्मफलभूत गतिस्वरूपा), सत्या (त्रिकालाबाधित ब्रह्मरूपा) अमर, अजेय तथा सम्पूर्ण लोकोंकी आत्मा है
prakṛtiḥ sā parā mahān rodasī yogadhāriṇī | ṛtā satyāmarājyayyā lokānāmātmasaṃjñitā ||
प्रकृतिः सा परा महां रोदसी योगधारिणी । ऋता सत्यामराजय्या लोकानामात्मसंज्ञिता ॥
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse identifies the supreme Prakṛti as the sustaining, yogic power that underlies the cosmos—earth and sky included—and equates her with Ṛta (moral-cosmic order and karmic fruition) and Satya (timeless truth). It frames ultimate reality as both the lawful order governing action and the inner Self of all worlds, emphasizing invincibility and immortality as marks of the foundational principle.
In the Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Arjuna speaks and describes the nature of the supreme Prakṛti. Rather than a battlefield exchange, the scene is contemplative: Arjuna articulates a metaphysical vision in which the cosmos is upheld by yogic power and grounded in Ṛta and Satya.