Shloka 47

नारद–शुक संवादः

Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga

Devanagari script

गुणक्षयत्वात्‌ प्रकृति: कर्तृत्वादक्षयं बुधा: । एषा ते<<न्वीक्षिकी विद्या चतुर्थी साम्परायिकी

Transliteration

guṇakṣayatvāt prakṛtiḥ kartṛtvād akṣayaṃ budhāḥ | eṣā te ’nvīkṣikī vidyā caturthī sāmparāyikī ||

Translation

«ولأن صفاتها (الغونات) تقبل النقص والانحلال، تُعدّ الطبيعة الأولى (بركريتي) فانية؛ ولكن لأن البوروشا هو المُحرّك والفاعل الباطن، يعلنه الحكماء غير فانٍ. يا ملك الغندهرفات، هذه هي discipline الرابعة من علم الاستقصاء (آنوِكشيكي) التي علّمتُك إياها—معرفة تتصل بالغاية العليا وتعضد التحرّر.»

Word by Word

• {'guṇa': 'constituent quality of nature (sattva, rajas, tamas)

• a binding modality', 'kṣaya': 'decay, diminution, dissolution', 'guṇakṣayatva': 'the state of being subject to the decay of the guṇas', 'prakṛti': 'primordial nature

• the field of changing qualities', 'kartṛtva': 'agency

• being the doer/instigator (in the sense of inner prompting)', 'akṣaya': 'imperishable

• not subject to decay', 'budha': 'the wise

• the discerning', 'ānvīkṣikī vidyā': 'the discipline of rational inquiry/metaphysical investigation', 'caturthī': 'the fourth (in a set of teachings/disciplines)', 'sāmparāyikī': 'pertaining to the hereafter/supreme end

Speaker

याज़्ञवल्क्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yājñavalkya
• Gandharvarāja (King of the Gandharvas)
• prakṛti
• puruṣa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse distinguishes prakṛti and puruṣa: prakṛti is perishable because it is constituted by guṇas that undergo change and dissolution, while puruṣa is imperishable as the inner principle associated with agency/instigation. This discrimination is presented as ānvīkṣikī—philosophical inquiry—aimed at the highest good (mokṣa).

What is happening in the narrative?

Yājñavalkya addresses the Gandharva king and concludes a segment of instruction by presenting a doctrinal summary: he has taught a ‘fourth’ ānvīkṣikī vidyā, characterized as sāmparāyikī—knowledge oriented toward the ultimate end and liberation.