Shloka 31
अश्वशिरो-आख्यानम्
Aśvaśiras / Hayaśiras Narrative: Retrieval of the Vedas
तस्मादव्यक्तमुत्पन्न॑ त्रिगुणं द्विजसत्तम । अव्यक्ता व्यक्तभावस्था या सा प्रकृतिरव्यया
tasmād avyaktam utpannaṁ triguṇaṁ dvijasattama | avyaktā vyaktabhāvasthā yā sā prakṛtir avyayā ||
Nārada said: “Therefore, O best of the twice-born, from that Supreme Reality arises the unmanifest principle endowed with the three guṇas. That imperishable Prakṛti is called ‘unmanifest’ even while abiding in the condition of manifestation—subtle, unknowable, unexpressed, unmoving, and constant; beyond the senses, their objects, and all beings. It is the inner Self of all creatures, hence spoken of as the knower of the field (kṣetrajña), transcending the three guṇas and called Puruṣa. From that, again, the three-guṇa unmanifest is said to originate.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes the imperishable inner Self (kṣetrajña/puruṣa), which is beyond the three guṇas, from Prakṛti, the unmanifest principle associated with the guṇas. It teaches that the true Self is subtle, constant, beyond senses and objects, and is the inner witness of all beings—knowledge of which supports liberation-oriented discernment.
Nārada is instructing a brāhmaṇa sage within the Śānti Parva’s mokṣa-oriented discourse. He explains the cosmological and psychological framework of Sāṅkhya: from the supreme, guṇa-transcending Self, the guṇa-bearing unmanifest Prakṛti is spoken of as arising, and Prakṛti is described as ‘unmanifest’ even when it appears as the manifest world.