Shloka 22
Adhyāya 39 — त्रिगुणविवेकः (Discrimination of the Three Guṇas) and Avyakta-Doctrine
त्रयो गुणा: प्रवर्तन्ते हुव्यक्ता नित्यमेव तु । सत्त्वं रजस्तमश्नैव गुणसर्ग: सनातन:,सर्वत्र तीनों गुणोंकी ही सत्ता है। ये तीनों अव्यक्त और प्रवाहरूपसे नित्य भी हैं। सत्त्व, रज और तम--इन गुणोंकी सृष्टि सनातन है
trayo guṇāḥ pravartante hy avyaktā nityam eva tu | sattvaṁ rajas tamaś caiva guṇasargaḥ sanātanaḥ ||
Vāyu said: “Everywhere, the three guṇas are at work. Though unmanifest, they flow on eternally. Sattva, rajas, and tamas—this origination and interplay of the guṇas is beginningless and everlasting.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
All embodied experience and moral psychology are shaped by the three guṇas—sattva, rajas, and tamas—which, though subtle and often unseen, continuously operate and are beginningless. Ethical cultivation therefore involves recognizing their influence and moving from tamas/rajas toward sattva, and ultimately beyond guṇa-binding through discernment.
Vāyudeva is instructing the listener in a doctrinal passage, explaining the perpetual operation of the three guṇas as the underlying framework of worldly processes and inner dispositions, setting a philosophical basis for understanding conduct and transformation.