Shloka 2
मृत्युकारणप्रश्नः / Inquiry into the Cause and Designation of Death
स्वभावयुक्त तत् सर्व यदिमान् सृजते गुणान् । ऊर्णनाभिर्यथा सूत्र सृजते तद्गुणांस्तथा
svabhāvayuktaṁ tat sarvaṁ yad imān sṛjate guṇān | ūrṇanābhir yathā sūtraṁ sṛjate tad-guṇāṁs tathā ||
Vyāsa berkata: Segala sesuatu yang melahirkan kualitas-kualitas (guṇa) ini melakukannya sesuai dengan kodratnya sendiri. Seperti laba-laba memintal benang dari dirinya, demikian pula Prakṛti, oleh susunan hakikinya sendiri, menimbulkan aneka wujud yang tersusun dari tiga guṇa.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Creation and the arising of the guṇas are presented as a natural outflow of Prakṛti’s own svabhāva (inherent constitution), not as an arbitrary act. The spider-thread image teaches that effects proceed from the cause’s own nature—supporting a Sāṅkhya-style view of causality and encouraging discernment of guṇa-driven phenomena.
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Vyāsa continues an instruction on metaphysical principles: how the world of qualities and objects arises. He illustrates the process with a familiar analogy (a spider spinning its thread) to clarify that the manifested world is generated from Prakṛti itself, in accordance with its innate tendencies.