Shloka 17
Nāgendra–Brāhmaṇa Saṃvāda: Praśna-vidhi and Dharmic Approach on the Gomatī Riverbank
तमसो ब्रह्म सम्भूतं तमोमूलामृतात्मकम् । तद्विश्चभावसंज्ञान्तं पौरुषी तनुमाश्रितम्
tamasaḥ brahma sambhūtaṃ tamomūlāmṛtātmakam | tadviśvabhāvasaṃjñāntaṃ pauruṣīṃ tanum āśritam ||
毗湿摩波耶那说：据说梵（Brahman）自黑暗（tamas）而显现——以黑暗之理为根本，而其体性为不死之精髓（amṛta）。那同一真实，作为宇宙诸状态之所依而为人所知，依止于宇宙大人之身（普遍之形）而安住。
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a cosmological-metaphysical account: the supreme principle (Brahman) is described in relation to tamas (the obscuring, undifferentiated principle) and amṛta (the deathless essence). It suggests that the ground of reality, while transcendent, is also the basis of universal manifestation and is spoken of as abiding in the cosmic form (Puruṣa), linking ultimate reality with the manifested universe.
In the didactic discourse of Śānti Parva, Vaiśampāyana continues an exposition on first principles—how the universe is accounted for in terms of fundamental categories (tamas, amṛta, Brahman/Puruṣa). The focus is not on external action but on explaining the metaphysical basis of creation and the relation between the unmanifest and the manifest.