Shloka 31
Adhyāya 302: Guṇa-vicāra, Gati-bheda, and the Imperishable State
Yājñavalkya–Janaka
सयक्षभूतगन्धर्वे सकिन्नरमहोरगे । सचारणपिशाचे वै सदेवर्षिनिशाचरे,नरश्रेष्ठ! तीनों लोकोंमें जितने देहधारी हैं, उन सबमें इन्हीं तत्त्वोंके समुदायको देह समझना चाहिये। देवता, मनुष्य, दानव, यक्ष, भूत, गन्धर्व किन्नर, महासर्प, चारण, पिशाच, देवर्षि, निशाचर, दंश (डंक मारनेवाली मक्खी), कीट, मच्छर, दुर्गन्धित कीड़े, चूहे, कुत्ते, चाण्डाल, हिरन, श्वपाक (कुत्ताका मांस खानेवाला), पुल्कस (म्लेच्छ), हाथी, घोड़े, गधे, सिंह, वृक्ष और गौ आदिके रूपमें जो कुछ मूर्तिमान् पदार्थ है, सर्वत्र इन्हीं तत्त्वोंका दर्शन होता है
sa-yakṣa-bhūta-gandharve sa-kinnara-mahorage | sa-cāraṇa-piśāce vai sa-devarṣi-niśācare, naraśreṣṭha! trīṣu lokeṣu yāvanto deha-dhāriṇaḥ santi, teṣāṃ sarveṣāṃ dehaḥ eṣām eva tattvānāṃ samudāya iti draṣṭavyaḥ | yatra yatra mūrtimat padārthaḥ dṛśyate, tatra tatra eṣām eva tattvānāṃ darśanam bhavati ||
Vasiṣṭha said: O best of men, whether among yakṣas, bhūtas, gandharvas, kinnaras, great serpents, cāraṇas, piśācas, divine seers, or night-roamers—indeed, among all embodied beings in the three worlds—the body should be understood as nothing but a composite of these very fundamental constituents. Whatever form appears as a tangible, embodied entity—be it god, human, demon, or any other creature—everywhere one sees only these same constituents at work. The ethical thrust is to loosen pride and aversion by recognizing a single material basis underlying all embodied life.
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
All embodied beings—divine, human, or otherwise—are constituted by the same fundamental tattvas; therefore the body is an aggregate of shared elements, a view meant to reduce pride, hatred, and caste/species-based contempt.
Vasiṣṭha instructs the listener (addressed as 'naraśreṣṭha') in a contemplative, Sāṅkhya-like analysis: he lists many classes of beings to emphasize that across the three worlds, every tangible form is built from the same constituents.