Shloka 15
Śuka–Janaka Saṃvāda: Āśrama-krama, Jñāna-vijñāna, and the Marks of Liberation (शुक-जनक संवादः)
प्रकृतिर्गुणान् विकुरुते स्वच्छन्देनात्मकाम्यया । क्रीडार्थे तु महाराज शतशोडथ सहस्रश:,महाराज! प्रकृति स्वतन्त्रतापूर्वक खेल करनेके लिये अपनी ही इच्छासे सैकड़ों और हजारों गुणोंको उत्पन्न करती है
prakṛtir guṇān vikurute svacchandena ātmakāmyayā | krīḍārthe tu mahārāja śataśo ’tha sahasraśaḥ ||
Yājñavalkya berkata: “Wahai raja agung, Prakṛti (Alam) dengan kehendaknya sendiri, secara bebas, mengubah dan memperbanyak guṇa. Demi permainan semata, ia memunculkannya beratus-ratus dan beribu-ribu.”
याज़्वल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the manifold world arises from Prakṛti’s autonomous activity: Nature, driven by its own impulse, continually transforms and proliferates the guṇas into countless forms. Ethically, this supports vairāgya (detachment): recognizing phenomena as guṇa-transformations helps one avoid egoic ownership and remain steady in dharma.
In a didactic dialogue within Śānti Parva, the sage Yājñavalkya addresses a king and explains a Sāṅkhya-style account of manifestation: Prakṛti, for ‘play,’ generates innumerable variations of the guṇas, thereby producing the diversity experienced in the world.