Shloka 37

Adhyāya 302: Guṇa-vicāra, Gati-bheda, and the Imperishable State

Yājñavalkya–Janaka

Devanagari script

महांश्वैवाग्रजो नित्यमेतत्‌ क्षरनिदर्शनम्‌ | कथितं ते महाराज यन्मां त्वं परिपृच्छसि

Transliteration

mahāṁś caivāgrajo nityam etat kṣara-nidarśanam | kathitaṁ te mahārāja yan māṁ tvaṁ paripṛcchasi ||

Translation

Vasiṣṭha nói: “Hãy luôn ghi nhớ đây là dấu hiệu xác định của cái hoại diệt (kṣara): trong các pháp sinh khởi, Mahat—Đại Nguyên Lý—chính là kẻ sinh ra trước hết. Hỡi đại vương, đúng như điều ngài hỏi, ta đã trình bày với ngài về kṣara và akṣara như vậy.”

Word by Word

• {'mahān (mahat-tattva)': 'the ‘Great’ principle

• primordial intellect/cosmic intelligence, first evolute in Sāṅkhya-style cosmology', 'agrajaḥ': 'first-born

• earliest produced', 'nityam': 'always

• constantly (to be kept in mind)', 'etat': 'this', 'kṣara': 'perishable

• that which undergoes change/decay', 'nidarśanam': 'mark, characteristic sign, definition by indication', 'kathitam': 'told, explained', 'te': 'to you', 'mahārāja': 'O great king', 'yat': 'which

• what', 'mām': 'me', 'tvam': 'you', 'paripṛcchasi': 'you ask

Speaker

वसिष्ठ उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• Mahārāja (the king, unnamed here)
• Mahat (Mahattattva)
• Kṣara
• Akṣara

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The perishable realm (kṣara) is identified by origination and change; its first manifest principle is Mahat (cosmic intellect). Remembering this helps distinguish mutable phenomena from the imperishable (akṣara).

What is happening in the narrative?

Vasiṣṭha concludes a response to the king’s inquiry, summarizing the defining sign of kṣara and stating that he has explained the doctrine of kṣara and akṣara as requested.