Shloka 17
जनक–सुलभा संवादः
Janaka–Sulabhā Dialogue on Mokṣa and Non-attachment
षड्विंशेन प्रबुद्धेन बुध्यमानो>प्यबुद्धिमान् । एतन्नानात्वमित्युक्त सांख्यश्रुतिनिदर्शनात्
ṣaḍviṁśena prabuddhena budhyamāno 'py abuddhimān | etan nānātvam ity uktaṁ sāṅkhyaśruti-nidarśanāt ||
婆悉吒说道：纵然个体之我因第二十六原理而被唤醒，由此得以认识那无知觉的聚合体，它仍是不智之者——因为虽知物质之“田地”，却不知至上之我。正是此无明，被宣说为灵魂以多样性之相而受缚的原因；此义为数论之教与奥义书传统之证所指示。
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Knowing the inert or material aggregate is not the same as knowing the Supreme Self. Without realization of the Supreme, the jīva remains in ignorance, and that ignorance generates bondage experienced as multiplicity (nānātva).
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on liberation, Vasiṣṭha explains a philosophical point: the soul may gain a kind of awakening that enables it to cognize the material domain, yet it remains truly unwise if it fails to recognize the Supreme Reality. He supports this by appealing to Sāṅkhya categories and to śruti authority.