Shloka 20
Adhyāya 39 — त्रिगुणविवेकः (Discrimination of the Three Guṇas) and Avyakta-Doctrine
भूतं भव्यं भविष्यं च धर्मोडर्थ: काम एव च | प्राणापानावुदान श्चाप्येत एव त्रयो गुणा:,भूत, वर्तमान, भविष्य, धर्म, अर्थ, काम, प्राण, अपान और उदान-ये सब त्रिगुणात्मक ही हैं
bhūtaṁ bhavyaṁ bhaviṣyaṁ ca dharmo 'rthaḥ kāma eva ca | prāṇāpānāv udānaś cāpy ete eva trayo guṇāḥ ||
Vāyu-deva said: Past, present, and future; and likewise dharma, artha, and kāma; and also the vital currents prāṇa, apāna, and udāna—all these are, in truth, constituted by the three guṇas. Thus, even what seems to be time, value, desire, and life-breath is to be understood as operating under the same fundamental qualities of nature.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
That time (past–present–future), human aims (dharma–artha–kāma), and even the vital breaths (prāṇa–apāna–udāna) function within prakṛti and are shaped by the three guṇas; therefore one should discern their guṇa-based nature rather than treat them as absolute or independent realities.
Vāyu-deva is instructing the listener in a philosophical register, classifying major categories—temporal divisions, ethical/material goals, and physiological life-forces—as expressions of the triguṇa framework, thereby guiding understanding toward a Sāṅkhya-like analysis of experience.