Shloka 15
Adhyāya 39 — त्रिगुणविवेकः (Discrimination of the Three Guṇas) and Avyakta-Doctrine
प्राकाश्यं सत्त्वमादित्य: संतापो रजसो गुण: । उपप्लवस्तु विज्ञेयस्तामसस्तस्य पर्वसु,सूर्यका प्रकाश सत्त्वनुण है, उनका ताप रजोगुण है और अमावास्याके दिन जो उनपर ग्रहण लगता है, वह तमोगुणका कार्य है
prākāśyaṁ sattvam ādityaḥ santāpo rajaso guṇaḥ | upaplavas tu vijñeyas tāmasas tasya parvasu ||
Vāyu said: “The Sun’s radiance is to be understood as the quality of sattva; its burning heat is a manifestation of rajas. But the disturbance that occurs to it at its junctions (such as on the new-moon day, when an eclipse is seen) should be known as the effect of tamas.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse maps observable features of the Sun to the three guṇas: illumination corresponds to sattva (clarity), heat to rajas (activity and intensity), and obscuration/disturbance at transitional times (parvans, such as amāvāsyā eclipses) to tamas (darkness and delusion). It teaches discernment of guṇas through natural phenomena.
Vāyu is speaking in a didactic context, explaining how cosmic phenomena reflect the guṇas. He uses the Sun as an example to illustrate sattva, rajas, and tamas in a concrete, observable way.