Shloka 17

जनक–सुलभा संवादः

Janaka–Sulabhā Dialogue on Mokṣa and Non-attachment

Devanagari script

षड्विंशेन प्रबुद्धेन बुध्यमानो>प्यबुद्धिमान्‌ । एतन्नानात्वमित्युक्त सांख्यश्रुतिनिदर्शनात्‌

Transliteration

ṣaḍviṁśena prabuddhena budhyamāno 'py abuddhimān | etan nānātvam ity uktaṁ sāṅkhyaśruti-nidarśanāt ||

Translation

Vasiṣṭha nói: Dẫu ngã cá thể được đánh thức bởi nguyên lý thứ hai mươi sáu và nhờ đó nhận biết khối tụ vô tri, nó vẫn là kẻ không trí—vì tuy biết “cánh đồng” của vật chất, nó lại không biết Tối Thượng Ngã. Chính vô minh ấy được tuyên là nguyên nhân trói buộc linh hồn trong hình thái đa tạp, như giáo lý Sāṅkhya và chứng ngôn của truyền thống Upaniṣad đã chỉ bày.

Word by Word

• षड्विंशेन: by/through the twenty-sixth (principle)
• षड्विंशेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: षड्विंश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• प्रबुद्धेन: by the awakened/enlightened (one/principle)
• प्रबुद्धेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रबुद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• बुध्यमानः: knowing/being aware (of)
• बुध्यमानः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: बुध् (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), Atmanepada, शानच् (present participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अपि: even/although
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• अबुद्धिमान्: unintelligent/without true understanding
• अबुद्धिमान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अबुद्धिमत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• नानात्वम्: diversity/multiplicity
• नानात्वम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नानात्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• इति: thus (quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• उक्तम्: is said/has been stated
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• सांख्यश्रुतिनिदर्शनात्: from the illustration/evidence of Sāṅkhya and the Śruti
• सांख्यश्रुतिनिदर्शनात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सांख्य-श्रुति-निदर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

Speaker

वसिष्ठ उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• Sāṅkhya
• Śruti (Vedic revelation)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Knowing the inert or material aggregate is not the same as knowing the Supreme Self. Without realization of the Supreme, the jīva remains in ignorance, and that ignorance generates bondage experienced as multiplicity (nānātva).

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction on liberation, Vasiṣṭha explains a philosophical point: the soul may gain a kind of awakening that enables it to cognize the material domain, yet it remains truly unwise if it fails to recognize the Supreme Reality. He supports this by appealing to Sāṅkhya categories and to śruti authority.