Shloka 1
Utkramaṇa-sthāna and Ariṣṭa-lakṣaṇa: Yājñavalkya’s Instruction on Departure Pathways and Mortality Signs
ऑपन-आ करा (_ अ-्---क्ााज पञज्चाधिकत्रिशततमोब< ध्याय: क्षर-अक्षर एवं प्रकृति-पुरुषके विषयमें राजा जनककी शंका और उसका वसिष्ठजीद्धारा उत्तर जनक उवाच अक्षरक्षरयोरेष द्वयो: सम्बन्ध इष्यते । स्त्रीपुंसोर्वापि भगवन् सम्बन्धस्तद्वदुच्यते
Janaka uvāca: kṣara-akṣarayor eṣa dvayoḥ sambandha iṣyate | strī-puṁsor vāpi bhagavan sambandhas tadvad ucyate ||
阇那迦王说道：“尊者，人们认为此二者——可坏与不可坏（即自性 Prakṛti 与神我 Puruṣa）——之间确有关系。此关系是否应当理解为如同女子与男子之间的婚配之系？”
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a philosophical inquiry: how the mutable (kṣara/prakṛti) and the immutable (akṣara/puruṣa) are connected. By proposing the analogy of husband–wife, Janaka seeks clarity on whether their linkage is intimate yet distinct—an important step toward understanding bondage and liberation.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction section, King Janaka addresses the sage Vasiṣṭha with a doubt. He asks whether the accepted relation between kṣara and akṣara is like the conjugal relation between woman and man, setting up Vasiṣṭha’s forthcoming explanation.