Shloka 20
अग्निनाम-प्रादुर्भावः प्रायश्चित्त-विधानं च
Agni’s Epithets, Manifestations, and Expiation Procedures
इन्द्रियाणि च पञ्चात्मा रज: सत्त्वं तमस्तथा । इत्येष सप्तदशको राशिरव्यक्तसंज्ञक:,इनके सिवा पाँच ज्ञानेन्द्रियाँ, प्राण और सत्त्व, रज, तम--इन सत्रह तत्त्वोंका समूह अव्यक्त कहलाता है
indriyāṇi ca pañcātmā rajaḥ sattvaṃ tamas tathā | ityeṣa saptadaśako rāśir avyaktasaṃjñakaḥ ||
ഇവയ്ക്കുപുറമെ അഞ്ചു ഇന്ദ്രിയങ്ങൾ, ആത്മാവ് (ഭോക്താവ്) കൂടാതെ സത്ത്വം, രജസ്, തമസ്—ഈ പതിനേഴു തത്ത്വങ്ങളുടെ സമുച്ചയം ‘അവ്യക്തം’ എന്നു വിളിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു.
व्याध उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ethical and spiritual understanding through Sāṅkhya-style analysis: experience and behavior arise from a subtle ‘unmanifest’ basis constituted by the sense-faculties, the self as experiencer, and the three guṇas. Recognizing these constituents helps one discern how clarity (sattva), agitation (rajas), and inertia (tamas) shape conduct, and thus supports disciplined, dharmic living.
In the Vyādha episode of the Vana Parva, the hunter instructs a seeker in dharma using philosophical categories. Here he defines a set of principles and labels their aggregate as ‘avyakta’ (the unmanifest), continuing his broader teaching that right understanding of the self and the guṇas underlies right action.