Shloka 46
Adhyāya 302: Guṇa-vicāra, Gati-bheda, and the Imperishable State
Yājñavalkya–Janaka
शुक्ललोहितकृष्णानि रूपाण्येतानि त्रीणि तु । सर्वाण्येतानि रूपाणि यानीह प्राकृतानि वै
śukla-lohita-kṛṣṇāni rūpāṇy etāni trīṇi tu | sarvāṇy etāni rūpāṇi yānīha prākṛtāni vai ||
सत्त्व, रज और तम—इनसे क्रमशः श्वेत, रक्त और कृष्ण—ये तीन वर्ण प्रकट होते हैं। यहाँ प्रकृति से जो-जो रूप प्रकट हुए हैं, वे सब इन्हीं तीनों वर्णों के अन्तर्गत हैं।
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
All material manifestations (prākṛta rūpas) can be understood through the threefold framework of guṇas—sattva (white/clarity), rajas (red/activity), and tamas (black/inertia). This provides an ethical lens for evaluating behavior and cultivating sattva.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional discourse, Vasiṣṭha explains a philosophical classification: the diversity of worldly forms and dispositions is traced back to Prakṛti operating through three primary qualities, expressed symbolically as white, red, and black.