Shloka 46

Adhyāya 302: Guṇa-vicāra, Gati-bheda, and the Imperishable State

Yājñavalkya–Janaka

Devanagari script

शुक्ललोहितकृष्णानि रूपाण्येतानि त्रीणि तु । सर्वाण्येतानि रूपाणि यानीह प्राकृतानि वै,सत्त्वगगुण, रजोगुण और तमोगुणसे क्रमश: शुक्ल, रक्त और कृष्ण--ये तीन वर्ण प्रकट होते हैं। प्रकृतिसे जो-जो रूप प्रकट हुए हैं, वे सब इन्हीं तीनों वर्णोंके अन्तर्गत हैं

Transliteration

śukla-lohita-kṛṣṇāni rūpāṇy etāni trīṇi tu | sarvāṇy etāni rūpāṇi yānīha prākṛtāni vai ||

Translation

白・赤・黒——これが三つの形相（あるいは色）である。まことに、この世でプラクリティ（Prakṛti）から現れるあらゆる形相は、すべてこの三つのうちに収まっている。

Word by Word

शुक्लwhite

लोहितred

कृष्णानिblack/dark

रूपाणिforms/appearances

एतानिthese

त्रीणिthree

तुbut/indeed

सर्वाणिall

एतानिthese

रूपाणिforms

यानिwhich

इहhere/in this world

प्राकृतानिborn of प्रकृति / natural

वैindeed/verily

Speaker

वसिष्ठ उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vasiṣṭha

Prakṛti

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

All material manifestations (prākṛta rūpas) can be understood through the threefold framework of guṇas—sattva (white/clarity), rajas (red/activity), and tamas (black/inertia). This provides an ethical lens for evaluating behavior and cultivating sattva.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instructional discourse, Vasiṣṭha explains a philosophical classification: the diversity of worldly forms and dispositions is traced back to Prakṛti operating through three primary qualities, expressed symbolically as white, red, and black.