Shloka 2
ब्रह्मघोष-प्रवर्तनम्, अनध्याय-नियमः, वायु-मार्ग-वर्णनम्
Restoring Vedic Recitation, the Anadhyaya Rule, and the Taxonomy of Winds
गुणैहिं गुणवानेव निर्गुणश्वागुणस्तथा । प्राहुरेवं महात्मानो मुनयस्तत्त्वदर्शिन:,तत्त्वदर्शी महात्मा मुनि कहते हैं, जिसका गुणोंके साथ सम्पर्क है, वह गुणवान् है तथा जो गुणोंके संसर्गसे रहित है, वह निर्गुण कहलाता है
guṇaiḥ hi guṇavān eva nirguṇaś ca aguṇas tathā | prāhur evaṁ mahātmāno munayas tattvadarśinaḥ ||
Yājñavalkya said: “The great-souled sages, seers of reality, declare it thus: one who is in association with the guṇas is called ‘guṇavān’, possessed of guṇas; and one who is free from the contact of the guṇas is called ‘nirguṇa’, without attributes.”
याज़्वल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
A person is termed guṇavān when bound up with the guṇas (the qualities of nature), and termed nirguṇa/aguṇa when free from their association. The verse frames liberation as dis-identification from prakṛti’s qualities.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, Yājñavalkya cites the verdict of truth-seeing sages, offering a concise doctrinal definition that supports the broader discourse on peace, renunciation, and the path to inner freedom.