Shloka 13
ब्रह्मघोष-प्रवर्तनम्, अनध्याय-नियमः, वायु-मार्ग-वर्णनम्
Restoring Vedic Recitation, the Anadhyaya Rule, and the Taxonomy of Winds
पुरुष प्रकृतिसे भिन्न और नित्य है तथा अव्यक्त (प्रकृति) पुरुषसे भिन्न एवं अनित्य है। जैसे सींकसे मूँज अलग होती है, उसी प्रकार प्रकृति भी पुरुषसे पृथक् है ।।
puruṣaḥ prakṛteḥ bhinnaḥ nityaś ca; avyaktā (prakṛtiḥ) api puruṣāt bhinnā anityā ca. yathā śīṅkāt muñjaḥ pṛthak, tathā prakṛtir api puruṣāt pṛthak. anyac ca maśakaṃ vidyāt anyac codumbaraṃ tathā; na codumbarasaṃyogaiḥ maśakas tatra lipyate. tathā matsyaḥ anyo dravyaṃ, jalaṃ cānyat; jalasparśena matsyo na kadācana lipyate.
Sinabi ni Yājñavalkya: “Ang Puruṣa (ang may-malay na Sarili) ay hiwalay sa Prakṛti at walang hanggan; at ang Di-nahahalatang (Prakṛti) ay hiwalay rin sa Puruṣa at di-walang hanggan. Kung paanong ang damong muñja ay naihihiwalay sa tangkay nito, gayon din ang Prakṛti ay hiwalay sa Puruṣa. Alamin din: ang niknik ay isang bagay at ang udumbara (cluster-fig) ay iba; kahit magkasama sila, ang niknik ay hindi nadudungisan ng igos sa simpleng pakikisama. Gayon din, ang isda ay isang bagay at ang tubig ay iba; sa pagdampi ng tubig, ang isda ay hindi kailanman nadudungisan. Kaya ang pagkalapit o pagdikit lamang ay hindi tunay na nagbubuklod o nagpaparumi sa Sarili sa pamamagitan ng likas na materyal.”
याज़्वल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches viveka (discriminative knowledge): the conscious Self (Puruṣa) is essentially distinct from material nature (Prakṛti/Avyakta). Because bondage is only due to association (saṃyoga) and misidentification, the Self is not truly tainted by the body-mind or by contact with the world—just as a gnat is not ‘smeared’ by the fig it inhabits, and a fish is not stained by water.
In the Śānti Parva’s mokṣa-oriented instruction, the sage Yājñavalkya is expounding metaphysical doctrine to clarify how liberation is possible. He uses everyday similes (muñja from its stalk; gnat and udumbara; fish and water) to show that proximity does not imply identity, reinforcing detachment and the understanding that the Self remains untouched.