Shloka 21
Adhyāya 39 — त्रिगुणविवेकः (Discrimination of the Three Guṇas) and Avyakta-Doctrine
पर्यायेण प्रवर्तन्ते तत्र तत्र तथा तथा । यत्किंचिदिह लोके5स्मिन् सर्वमेते त्रयो गुणा:,इस जगत्में जो कोई भी वस्तु भिन्न-भिन्न स्थानोंमें भिन्न-भिन्न प्रकारसे उपलब्ध होती है, वह सब त्रिगुणमय है
paryāyeṇa pravartante tatra tatra tathā tathā | yat kiñcid iha loke 'smin sarvam ete trayo guṇāḥ ||
Vāyu said: 'In due succession they operate—here and there, in this way and that. Whatever exists in this world, in any form and in any place, is entirely constituted by these three guṇas.'
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
All phenomena in the world—diverse in place and form—are expressions of prakṛti through the three guṇas (sattva, rajas, tamas), which take turns predominating and thereby produce different behaviors, states, and outcomes.
Vāyu is instructing the listener in a philosophical register, explaining that the variety seen in worldly life is not random but arises from the alternating operation of the three guṇas, framing ethical and experiential differences as guṇa-driven.