Shloka 70
नारद–शुक संवादः
Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga
अबुध्यमानां प्रकृति बुध्यते पडचरविंशक: । नतु बुध्यति गन्धर्व प्रकृति: पडचविंशकम्,गन्धर्व! प्रकृति जड है, इसलिये उसे पचीसवाँ तत्त्व--जीवात्मा तो जानता है; किंतु प्रकृति जीवात्माको नहीं जानती
abudhyamānāṃ prakṛtiṃ budhyate pañcaviṃśakaḥ | na tu budhyati gandharva prakṛtiḥ pañcaviṃśakam, gandharva |
Yājñavalkya nói: “Hỡi Gandharva, Prakṛti vô tri thì không biết; chính nguyên lý thứ hai mươi lăm—tự ngã có ý thức—mới biết Prakṛti. Nhưng Prakṛti không biết nguyên lý thứ hai mươi lăm. Vậy kẻ biết khác với điều bị biết, và tri giác không thể bị quy giản thành tự nhiên vật chất.”
याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the Sāṅkhya-style distinction between the conscious knower (the twenty-fifth principle, Puruṣa/Ātman) and unconscious material nature (Prakṛti). The Self can cognize Prakṛti, but Prakṛti—being inert—cannot cognize the Self; therefore consciousness is not a product of matter.
In Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Yājñavalkya addresses a Gandharva and clarifies the relationship between Prakṛti and the twenty-fifth tattva. The statement functions as a doctrinal point within a teaching dialogue aimed at right discernment leading toward liberation.