Shloka 8
Adhyāya 39 — त्रिगुणविवेकः (Discrimination of the Three Guṇas) and Avyakta-Doctrine
उद्रिक्त च यदा सत्त्वमूर्ध्वस्रोतोगतं भवेत् । अल्पं तत्र तमो ज्ञेयं रजश्नाल्पतरं तथा,इसी प्रकार ऊर्ध्वस्रोता यानी देवयोनियोंमें जहाँ सत्त्वनुणकी वृद्धि होती है, वहाँ तमोगुण अल्प और रजोगुण अल्पतर जानना चाहिये
udriktaṃ ca yadā sattvam ūrdhvasrotogataṃ bhavet | alpaṃ tatra tamo jñeyaṃ rajaś cālpataram tathā ||
Vāyu-deva said: When the quality of sattva becomes predominant and rises into the ‘upward-flowing’ course—i.e., the higher destinies such as the divine realms—then know that tamas is present there only in a small measure, and rajas in an even smaller measure. The verse frames spiritual ascent as an ethical-psychological refinement: as clarity and harmony increase, inertia diminishes and restless passion becomes subtler still.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that higher states of existence and consciousness correlate with the predominance of sattva; in such ‘upward’ conditions, tamas is minimal and rajas is even more reduced. Ethical and spiritual elevation is portrayed as increasing clarity and harmony while diminishing inertia and agitating passion.
Vāyu-deva is explaining a doctrinal point about the three guṇas and their distribution across states of being. He describes the ‘upward-flowing’ trajectory (ūrdhvasrotas), associated with higher births such as divine realms, where sattva dominates and the other two guṇas are comparatively weak.