Shloka 39
Utkramaṇa-sthāna and Ariṣṭa-lakṣaṇa: Yājñavalkya’s Instruction on Departure Pathways and Mortality Signs
निस्तत्त्वं पज्चविंशस्य परमाहुर्निंदर्शनम् । सर्गस्य वर्गमाधारं तत्त्वं तत्वात्ू सनातनम्
nistattvaṃ pañcaviṃśasya paramāhur nirdarśanam | sargasya vargam ādhāraṃ tattvaṃ tattvāt tu sanātanam ||
婆悉吒言：“或有人说，至上的指示在于第二十五原理，它超越一切显现之类。它是永恒的根基，支撑造化的全体序列；虽与诸变易原理相离，却又摄持而不舍。”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes the changing, enumerated principles of creation from an eternal conscious ground: the twenty-fifth principle (Puruṣa/Paramātman) is presented as the supreme indicator and the timeless substratum supporting all manifested categories.
In Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Vasiṣṭha explains a Sāṅkhya-like framework, clarifying how some thinkers classify the ultimate conscious reality as distinct from the material principles and as the enduring support of the cosmos.