Shloka 24
Adhyāya 39 — त्रिगुणविवेकः (Discrimination of the Three Guṇas) and Avyakta-Doctrine
अनुद्रिक्तमनूनं वाप्पकम्पमचलं ध्रुवम् | सदसच्चैव तत् सर्वमव्यक्तं त्रिगुणा स्मृतम् । ज्ञेयानि नामधेयानि नरैरध्यात्मचिन्तकै:,प्रकृतिको तम, व्यकत, शिव, धाम, रज, योनि, सनातन, प्रकृति, विकार, प्रलय, प्रधान प्रभव, अप्यय, अनुद्रिक्त, अनून, अकम्प, अचल, ध्रुव, सत, असत्ू, अव्यक्त और त्रिगुणात्मक कहते हैं। अध्यात्मतत्त्वका चिन्तन करनेवाले लोगोंको इन नामोंका ज्ञान प्राप्त करना चाहिये
Vāyudeva uvāca: anudriktam anūnaṃ vā apkampam acalaṃ dhruvam | sad asac caiva tat sarvam avyaktaṃ triguṇā smṛtam || jñeyāni nāmadheyāni narair adhyātma-cintakaiḥ: prakṛtiḥ, tamaḥ, vyaktaḥ, śivaḥ, dhāma, rajaḥ, yoniḥ, sanātanam, prakṛtiḥ, vikāraḥ, pralayaḥ, pradhānam, prabhavaḥ, apyayaḥ, anudriktaḥ, anūnaḥ, akampaḥ, acalaḥ, dhruvaḥ, sat, asat, avyaktaḥ, triguṇātmakam iti
Vāyudeva said: “That principle is unagitated, not deficient, unshaken, unmoving, and steadfast. It is spoken of as encompassing both the existent and the non-existent; it is the Unmanifest, remembered as constituted of the three guṇas. Those who contemplate the truth of the Self should understand its many appellations—such as Prakṛti, Darkness (tamas), the Manifest, Śiva, Abode, Passion (rajas), Womb/Source, the Eternal, Prakṛti, Modification, Dissolution, the Primal Ground (Pradhāna), Origination, Reabsorption, Unagitated, Not-deficient, Unshaken, Unmoving, Steadfast, Existent, Non-existent, Unmanifest, and Three-guṇa-formed.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the foundational principle underlying the world can be described through many traditional names. It is characterized as unagitated, stable, and unmanifest, yet it is also spoken of as involving the three guṇas and as the ground in which manifestation and dissolution occur. A seeker of adhyātma should know these designations to understand how different schools and contexts point to the same underlying reality.
Vāyudeva is instructing the listener in metaphysical terminology, listing epithets and technical names (e.g., prakṛti, pradhāna, pralaya, apyaya) used by contemplatives to refer to the cosmic ground and its states—manifest and unmanifest—thereby framing a doctrinal teaching within the Ashvamedhika Parva discourse.