Beyond the Great is the Unmanifested; beyond the Unmanifested is the Puruṣa. Beyond the Puruṣa there is nothing — that is the limit, that is the supreme goal.

This verse culminates the hierarchy begun in the previous verse, taking the ladder of subtlety to its absolute terminus.

Mahataḥ param avyaktam — beyond the Great (mahat) is the Unmanifested (avyakta). Mahat (also called cosmic buddhi) is the first manifested principle in Sāṅkhya. Avyakta is primordial prakṛti, nature in its latent state, before all differentiation.

Avyaktāt puruṣaḥ paraḥ — beyond the Unmanifested is the Puruṣa. Here appears the term that will be central in Sāṅkhya and Yoga: Puruṣa, pure consciousness, distinct from all manifested or unmanifested nature.

Puruṣānna paraṃ kiṃcit — beyond the Puruṣa there is absolutely nothing. This is the definitive declaration: Puruṣa is the ultimate terminus; there is nothing beyond to reach or know.

Sā kāṣṭhā — that is the limit, the goal post. Kāṣṭhā evokes the finishing line of a race. Sā parā gatiḥ — that is the supreme goal, the final destination of the spiritual traveler.

The implication for yoga is clear: all practice effort — āsana, prāṇāyāma, dhyāna — has as its purpose to traverse the layers of manifestation until recognizing Puruṣa as our essential nature. It is not a journey toward something external but a return to what we always were.

Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras will take up this structure, defining yoga as “the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind” so that Puruṣa may abide in its own nature.