Shloka 47
Jarā-Mṛtyu-anatikrama: Janaka–Pañcaśikha-saṃvāda
Aging and Death Cannot Be Overstepped
पज्चविंशात् परं तत्त्वं पठ्यते न नराधिप । सांख्यानां तु परं तत्त्व यथावदनुवर्णितम्
pañcaviṁśāt paraṁ tattvaṁ paṭhyate na narādhipa | sāṅkhyānāṁ tu paraṁ tattvaṁ yathāvad anūvarṇitam, nareśvara ||
婆悉吒说道：“大王啊，超越第二十五原理之外，便不再宣说任何更高的实在。故而，人中之主啊，我已依次第、如实无误地阐明了数论诸师所立的至上真理。”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a Sāṅkhya doctrinal boundary: the tradition enumerates principles (tattvas) up to twenty-five, and it does not posit an additional, separate principle beyond that count. Vasiṣṭha claims he has presented this ‘highest truth’ faithfully and in proper order.
In the Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Vasiṣṭha addresses a king and concludes a philosophical exposition by emphasizing that Sāṅkhya teachers stop their metaphysical enumeration at the twenty-fifth principle, presenting this as the completed and authoritative account.