Shloka 32
यन्नैव गन्धिनो रस्यं न रूपस्पर्शशब्दवत् । मन्यन्ते मुनयो बुद्धया तत् प्रधान प्रचक्षते
yan naiva gandhino rasyaṁ na rūpasparśaśabdavat | manyante munayo buddhyā tat pradhānaṁ pracakṣate ||
Dewa Vāyu berkata: “Yang tidak mempunyai bau dan rasa, serta tidak memiliki rupa, sentuhan, atau bunyi—namun direnungi oleh para resi dengan akal budi yang tajam—itulah yang mereka namakan Pradhāna, landasan purba bagi alam.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines Pradhāna as the unmanifest primordial principle that is beyond the five sensory qualities (smell, taste, form, touch, sound) and is known not by the senses but by contemplative intellect; it points toward discernment and detachment from sense-based knowing.
Vāyu-deva is instructing by giving a philosophical definition: he contrasts sensory attributes with what sages grasp through buddhi, identifying that subtle, non-sensory basis as Pradhāna.