Atithi-satkāra and the Consolation of Wise Counsel (अतिथिसत्कारः प्रज्ञानवचनस्य च पराश्वासनम्)
त्रयो हि धातव: ख्याता: कर्मजा इति ते स्मृता: । पित्तं श्लेष्मा च वायुश्चव एब संघात उच्यते
trayo hi dhātavaḥ khyātāḥ karmajā iti te smṛtāḥ | pittaṁ śleṣmā ca vāyuś caiva saṅghāta ucyate |
Dalam tubuh dikenal tiga unsur—pitta, śleṣman (kapha), dan vāyu (vāta). Ketiganya diingat sebagai lahir dari karma. Gabungan mereka disebut “tridhātu”.
तामिन्द्र उवाच गच्छ नहुषस्त्वया वाच्योथ<पूर्वेण मामृषियुक्तेन यानेन त्वमधिरूढ
Embodied life depends on the balance of three bodily principles—vāta, pitta, and kapha—understood here as karmically conditioned; health and decline are connected to the state of these constituents, integrating physiological insight with moral causality (karma).
Within the Shanti Parva’s instructional discourse, the text shifts into an Ayurvedic-style explanation of the body, defining the three constituents (tridhātu) and stating their karmic origin and their role in sustaining life.