Shloka 6
जनक–सुलभा संवादः
Janaka–Sulabhā Dialogue on Mokṣa and Non-attachment
अव्यक्तबोधनाच्चापि बुध्यमानं वदन्त्युत । पज्चविंशं महात्मानं न चासावपि बुध्यते
avyaktabodhanāc cāpi budhyamānaṃ vadanty uta | pañcaviṃśaṃ mahātmānaṃ na cāsāv api budhyate ||
婆悉吒说道：由于它能觉知未显（prakṛti），人们便称那伟大的第二十五原理——个体之我——为“budhyamāna”，即正在知、正在觉醒者。然而即便是它，也不能真实了知第二十六原理：那无垢、常住、恒常清净、具智、不可量、太古、永恒的至上自性。唯有那永恒的至上自性，圆满了知第二十五原理（个体之我）与第二十四原理（普拉克里蒂）。
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes levels of knowing: the individual self (the 25th principle) can cognize the Unmanifest nature (prakṛti) and is therefore termed ‘knowing/awakening,’ yet it does not, by its own limited standpoint, fully know the Supreme Self (the 26th principle). The Supreme Self, however, comprehends both the individual self and prakṛti—implying a hierarchy where ultimate knowledge belongs to the transcendent Paramātman.
In Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Vasiṣṭha is explaining a tattva-based framework (Sāṃkhya-like enumeration) to clarify the relation between prakṛti (the unmanifest source of phenomena), the jīva/puruṣa (individual self), and the Paramātman (supreme reality). The point is to guide the listener from partial metaphysical insight toward recognition of the highest principle.