Shloka 18
Doṣa-Parīkṣā and Guṇa-Viveka
Examination of Faults and Discernment of the Guṇas
अव्यक्तस्येह विज्ञाने नास्ति तुल्यं निदर्शनम् । यत्र नास्ति पदन््यास: कस्तं विषयमाप्नुयात्
avyaktasya iha vijñāne nāsti tulyaṃ nidarśanam | yatra nāsti padanyāsaḥ kas taṃ viṣayam āpnuyāt ||
毗湿摩说：“在此世间，欲求了知那‘不显’（无相、未显现者），并无可与之相比的譬喻。于彼处，连言语都无立足之地，谁还能把那真实当作可描述之对象？”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The Unmanifest reality cannot be adequately conveyed through examples or language; it is beyond the ordinary reach of conceptualization and verbal description, and is to be approached through direct realization rather than analogy.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhīṣma continues his philosophical teaching, emphasizing to the listener that the highest principle (the Unmanifest) lies beyond the domain of speech and illustrative comparison.