Shloka 44
अव्यक्त–पुरुष–विवेकः (Discrimination of Avyakta/Prakṛti and Puruṣa) — Yājñavalkya’s Anvīkṣikī to Viśvāvasu
पज्चविंशो<प्रकृत्यात्मा बुध्यमान इति स्मृत:ः । यदा तु बुध्यते55त्मानं तदा भवति केवल:
pañcaviṁśo ’prakṛtyātmā budhyamāna iti smṛtaḥ | yadā tu budhyate ’tmānaṁ tadā bhavati kevalaḥ ||
婆悉吒说道：“第二十五原理——自我——被称为‘知者’，并非普拉克里蒂（Prakṛti，原质）的本性。然而当它真正觉醒于自身，了知自己与普拉克里蒂全然有别之时，便成‘独存’（kevala）——独立安住于自身清净的真实之中，确立于无垢的至上梵（Brahman）之境。”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The Ātman (Puruṣa), counted as the 25th principle, is not a product of Prakṛti. Liberation (kevalatva/kaivalya) arises when one directly realizes the Self as distinct from Prakṛti and abides in its own pure consciousness.
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Vasiṣṭha instructs on metaphysical discrimination: he defines the Self as the knowing principle beyond material nature and states that true realization culminates in ‘kevala’—the Self’s independent, purified establishment in Brahman.