Shloka 46
Adhyāya 302: Guṇa-vicāra, Gati-bheda, and the Imperishable State
Yājñavalkya–Janaka
शुक्ललोहितकृष्णानि रूपाण्येतानि त्रीणि तु । सर्वाण्येतानि रूपाणि यानीह प्राकृतानि वै
śukla-lohita-kṛṣṇāni rūpāṇy etāni trīṇi tu | sarvāṇy etāni rūpāṇi yānīha prākṛtāni vai ||
সত্ত্ব, ৰজ আৰু তম—ইয়াৰ পৰা ক্ৰমে শ্বেত, ৰক্ত আৰু কৃষ্ণ—এই তিন বৰ্ণ প্ৰকাশ পায়। ইয়াত প্ৰকৃতিৰ পৰা যি যি ৰূপ উদ্ভৱ হয়, সেয়া সকলো এই তিন বৰ্ণৰ অন্তৰ্গত।
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
All material manifestations (prākṛta rūpas) can be understood through the threefold framework of guṇas—sattva (white/clarity), rajas (red/activity), and tamas (black/inertia). This provides an ethical lens for evaluating behavior and cultivating sattva.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional discourse, Vasiṣṭha explains a philosophical classification: the diversity of worldly forms and dispositions is traced back to Prakṛti operating through three primary qualities, expressed symbolically as white, red, and black.