Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 104
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
सर्वभूतेषु च तथा सत्त्वं तेजस्तथोत्तमम् | शुक्रे हुते5ग्नौ तस्मिंस्तु प्रादुरासंस्त्रय: प्रभो
sarvabhūteṣu ca tathā sattvaṃ tejastathottamam | śukre hute 'gnau tasmiṃstu prādurāsaṃs trayaḥ prabho ||
Vasiṣṭha said: “So too, in all beings there is vital essence, and likewise the highest brilliance. When the semen was offered into that fire, O lord, three beings then manifested there.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links all living beings with two inner principles—sattva (essential vitality/purity) and tejas (radiant power)—and suggests that when these forces are ritually and rightly directed (symbolized by an oblation into fire), they can become the cause of manifestation and creation.
Vasiṣṭha describes a specific event: semen (śukra) is offered into a fire as an oblation, and as a result three beings appear. The line functions as a mythic explanation of origin, framed within a discourse on subtle energies and their transformative potency.