Shloka 23
Utkramaṇa-sthāna and Ariṣṭa-lakṣaṇa: Yājñavalkya’s Instruction on Departure Pathways and Mortality Signs
गुणा गुणेषु जायन्ते तत्रैव निविशन्ति च । एवं गुणा: प्रकृतितो जायन्ते निविशन्ति च,जैसे आकाश आदि गुण सत्त्व आदि गुणोंसे उत्पन्न होते और उन्हींमें लीन हो जाते हैं; उसी प्रकार सत्त्व, रज, तम-ये तीनों गुण भी प्रकृतिसे उत्पन्न होते और उसीमें लीन होते हैं
guṇā guṇeṣu jāyante tatraiva niviśanti ca | evaṃ guṇāḥ prakṛtito jāyante niviśanti ca ||
Vasiṣṭha said: “Qualities arise from qualities and dissolve back into those very qualities. In the same way, the three guṇas—sattva, rajas, and tamas—arise from Prakṛti and finally merge back into Prakṛti.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
All experiential qualities are transformations within Prakṛti: guṇas arise from guṇas and return to guṇas; specifically, sattva, rajas, and tamas originate from Prakṛti and dissolve back into it. This supports detachment by showing that changing states belong to nature, not to the ultimate Self.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on liberation-oriented wisdom, Vasiṣṭha explains the causal cycle of the guṇas to clarify how mental and moral states arise and subside, guiding the listener toward discrimination (viveka) between the Self and Prakṛti.