Shloka 28
Adhyāya 51: Kṛṣṇa’s Leave-Taking and Departure for Dvārakā (द्वारकागमनानुमति)
अव्यक्तादिविशेषान्तमविद्यालक्षणं स्मृतम् । निबोधत तथा हीदं गुणैर्लक्षणमित्युत,अव्यक्तसे लेकर सोलह विशेषोंतक सभी अविद्याके लक्षण बताये गये हैं। ऐसा समझना चाहिये कि यह गुणोंका ही विस्तार है
avyaktādiviśeṣāntam avidyālakṣaṇaṃ smṛtam | nibodhata tathā hīdaṃ guṇair lakṣaṇam ity uta ||
Vāyu said: “From the Unmanifest up to the sixteen ‘particulars,’ this has been remembered as the defining mark of ignorance (avidyā). Understand also that what is described here is, in truth, characterized by the guṇas—an expansion and play of their qualities.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ignorance (avidyā) is identified with the entire chain of manifestation—from the Unmanifest source to the differentiated set of principles (often counted as sixteen ‘particulars’). This domain is governed by the guṇas; bondage persists as long as one takes this guṇa-made field to be the Self.
Vāyudeva is instructing the listener in a Sāṅkhya-style analysis: he defines avidyā not merely as a mental error but as identification with prakṛti’s evolutes, emphasizing that the manifested world and its categories are expressions of the guṇas.