Shloka 4

Devanagari script

तमो रजस्तथा सत्त्वं गुणानेतान्‌ प्रचक्षते । अन्योन्यमि थुना: सर्वे तथान्योन्यानुजीविन:,सत्त्व, रज और तम--इन तीनोंको गुण कहते हैं। ये परस्पर एक-दूसरेके प्रतिद्वन्द्दी, एक-दूसरेके आश्रित, एक-दूसरेके सहारे टिकनेवाले, एक-दूसरेका अनुसरण करनेवाले और परस्पर मिश्रित रहनेवाले हैं। पाँचों महाभूत त्रिगुणात्मक हैं

Transliteration

tamo rajastathā sattvaṃ guṇān etān pracakṣate | anyonyamithunāḥ sarve tathānyonyānujīvinaḥ ||

Translation

Vāyu said: “Darkness (tamas), activity (rajas), and clarity (sattva)—these three are called the guṇas. All of them stand in mutual opposition and yet depend upon one another, sustained by one another, following one another, and remaining intermingled.”

Word by Word

• {'tamas (tamaḥ)': 'darkness, inertia, obscuration', 'rajas': 'passion, activity, restlessness, drive', 'sattva': 'clarity, balance, lucidity, goodness', 'guṇa': 'constituent quality of prakṛti

• binding strand/attribute', 'etān': 'these (accusative plural)', 'pracakṣate': 'they are declared/called

• one designates', 'anyonya': 'mutual, one another', 'mithuna': 'paired

• in combination (here: mutually conjoined/entangled)', 'sarve': 'all (of them)', 'anyonya-anujīvin': 'living by/depending on one another

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyu (Vāyudeva)
• tamas
• rajas
• sattva
• guṇas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that the three guṇas—tamas, rajas, and sattva—define the constitution of embodied nature and are not isolated forces: they oppose one another yet remain mutually dependent and mixed, shaping conduct and moral disposition.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva is instructing the listener in a doctrinal explanation of prakṛti’s three guṇas, emphasizing their mutual rivalry and mutual support as a framework for understanding behavior and inner states.