Shloka 38
Vyaktāvyakta-Viveka and Nivṛtti as Paramā Gati
Manifest–Unmanifest Discrimination and the Supreme Path of Withdrawal
अजर: सो<मरश्वैव व्यक्ताव्यक्तोपदेशवान् | व्यापक: सगुण: सूक्ष्म: सर्वभूतगुणाश्रय:
ajaraḥ so 'maraś caiva vyaktāvyaktopadeśavān | vyāpakaḥ saguṇaḥ sūkṣmaḥ sarvabhūtaguṇāśrayaḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：彼至上补卢沙，离衰老与死亡；宣示显与未显之教；遍一切处；虽极微妙，却为一切众生之德性所依。具足如遍知等功德，彼为一切粗细诸原则之内在驱使者，亦是一切生类及其属性所归依之所。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines the Supreme Person as beyond aging and death, all-pervading and subtle, yet the foundational support of all beings and their qualities; it frames ultimate reality as both transcendent (unmanifest) and immanent (manifest), and as the inner ground of ethical and spiritual life.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhishma continues his discourse to Yudhishthira by describing the nature of the Supreme Purusha—highlighting divine immortality, omnipresence, and the role of the Supreme as the substratum of the world and its qualities.