Shloka 24
Doṣa-Parīkṣā and Guṇa-Viveka
Examination of Faults and Discernment of the Guṇas
पुरुष: प्रकृतिर्बुद्धि्विषयाश्रेन्द्रियाणि च । अहंकारो5भिमानश्व समूहो भूतसंज्ञक:
puruṣaḥ prakṛtir buddhir viṣayāś cendriyāṇi ca | ahaṅkāro ’bhimānaś ca samūho bhūtasaṃjñakaḥ ||
毗湿摩说：所谓众生，乃二十五谛之和合——普鲁沙（灵性）、普拉克里蒂（自然）、布地（觉智）、五境、十根、我慢（阿含迦罗），以及称为大种的诸元素之聚。能辨知此等构成，便学会超越对身与心的执认而观见真我，由此得以安住、摄持与正行。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines the ‘living being’ as an aggregate of twenty-five Sāṅkhya principles—consciousness (puruṣa) plus the evolutes of nature (prakṛti): intellect, egoity/identification, the sense-objects, the sense-faculties, and the elemental aggregate. The ethical implication is that recognizing these as components helps one dis-identify from them and act with steadiness and restraint.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and liberation-oriented wisdom. Here he shifts into a Sāṅkhya-style analysis, enumerating the constituents of embodied existence to support discernment (viveka) and inner peace after the war.