Shloka 16
Śukasya Janma-yoga-phalaṁ — Vyāsasya Tapasā Putrārthaḥ (Śānti-parva 310)
अव्यक्ताच्च महानात्मा समुत्पद्यति पार्थिव | प्रथमं सर्गमित्येतदाहु: प्राधानिकं बुधा:
avyaktāc ca mahān ātmā samutpadyati pārthiva | prathamaṁ sargam ity etad āhuḥ prādhānikaṁ budhāḥ ||
Yājñavalkya nói: “Tâu Đại vương, từ Vô hiển (avyakta) phát sinh Đại nguyên lý (mahat), tức trí tuệ vũ trụ. Bậc hiền trí gọi đó là cuộc sáng tạo thứ nhất, sự lưu xuất nguyên sơ (prādhānika).”
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse outlines a Sāṅkhya-like sequence of cosmic origination: from the Unmanifest primordial nature (avyakta/pradhāna) emerges mahat, the Great Principle or cosmic intelligence. This is identified as the first, primordial stage of creation.
In the Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, the sage Yājñavalkya addresses a king and explains a philosophical account of creation, defining the earliest phase as the arising of mahat from the unmanifest source.