Shloka 49

Devanagari script

एवमव्यक्तविषयं क्षरमाहुर्मनीषिण: । पज्चविंशतिमो यो<यं ज्ञानादेव प्रवर्तते

Transliteration

evam avyaktaviṣayaṁ kṣaram āhur manīṣiṇaḥ | pañcaviṁśatimo yo 'yaṁ jñānād eva pravartate ||

Translation

వసిష్ఠుడు పలికెను—అవ్యక్త ప్రకృతి ఆధారంగా, విషయంగా ఉన్నదంతా ‘క్షరము’ అని జ్ఞానులు చెబుతారు. కాని ఇరవై నాలుగు తత్త్వాలకన్నా భిన్నమైన ఇరవై ఐదవ తత్త్వము—పరమపురుషుడు, పరమాత్మ—అదే ‘అక్షరము’. ఆయనను పొందుట నిజజ్ఞానమువలన మాత్రమే సాధ్యం.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम्

• अव्यक्त-विषयम्: having the unmanifest as its object/domain
• अव्यक्त-विषयम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अव्यक्तविषय
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• क्षरम्: the perishable (principle/entity)
• क्षरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• आहुः: they have said/call
• Type: Verb
• Root: अह्
• Form: Perfect, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• मनीषिणः: the wise (sages)
• मनीषिणः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनीषिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पञ्चविंशतिमः: the twenty-fifth
• पञ्चविंशतिमः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्चविंशतिम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• यः: who/which
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ज्ञानात्: from/through knowledge
• ज्ञानात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• एव: indeed/only
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• प्रवर्तते: proceeds/comes forth/operates
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृत्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Atmanepada

Speaker

वसिष्ठ उवाच

Characters & Entities

• वसिष्ठ (Vasiṣṭha)
• अव्यक्त (Avyakta / Prakṛti)
• परमपुरुष (Paramapuruṣa)
• परमात्मा (Paramātman)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

All phenomena grounded in the Unmanifest (prakṛti) are ‘kṣara’—perishable and changing. Beyond the twenty-four principles stands the twenty-fifth, the Supreme Self (Paramapuruṣa/Paramātman), called ‘akṣara’—imperishable. Realization of this imperishable principle is attained only through jñāna (discriminative knowledge).

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction on liberation and right understanding, Vasiṣṭha explains a Sāṅkhya-style distinction between the perishable field of prakṛti and its evolutes versus the imperishable supreme Self, emphasizing knowledge as the means to attain the highest reality.