Shloka 83
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
जहाँ किसी विशेष अर्थको अभीष्ट मानकर उसके दोषों और गुणोंकी विभागपूर्वक गणना की जाती है, उस अर्थको संख्या अथवा सांख्य समझना चाहिये ।।
yatra kasyacid artha-viśeṣasya doṣa-guṇa-vibhāga-pūrvakaṃ gaṇanaṃ kriyate, tam arthaṃ saṅkhyā athavā sāṅkhyaṃ veditavyam. idaṃ pūrvam idaṃ paścād vaktavyaṃ yad vivakṣitam | krama-yogaṃ tam apy āhur vākyaṃ vākya-vido janāḥ ||
毗湿摩言：若以某一所欲立之义为宗，先分别其过失与功德，而后依次计数、条列而审察，此法当知为“数”(Saṅkhyā)或“数论”(Sāṅkhya)。又若言“此当先说，彼当后说”，将所欲陈述之要点按次第排列，则通晓言说之学者亦称之为有纪律的言语次序——教诲之中循序渐进的条理。
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma defines an analytic method: when a topic is clarified by separating merits and faults and enumerating them systematically, it is ‘Saṅkhyā/Sāṅkhya’. He also stresses krama (sequence): teaching should present points in a deliberate order—what comes first and what follows—so the intended meaning becomes clear.
In the Shanti Parva’s instructional setting, Bhishma is explaining to his listener(s) how philosophical and ethical instruction should be structured—by classification, enumeration, and orderly progression of statements—so that dharma and related teachings are communicated precisely.