Shloka 3

ब्रह्मघोष-प्रवर्तनम्, अनध्याय-नियमः, वायु-मार्ग-वर्णनम्

Restoring Vedic Recitation, the Anadhyaya Rule, and the Taxonomy of Winds

Devanagari script

गुणस्वभावस्त्वव्यक्तो गुणान्‌ नैवातिवर्तते । उपयुंक्ते च तानेव स चैवाज्ञ: स्वभावत:

Transliteration

guṇasvabhāvas tv avyakto guṇān naivātivartate | upayuṅkte ca tān eva sa caivājñaḥ svabhāvataḥ ||

Translation

ଅବ୍ୟକ୍ତ ପ୍ରକୃତି ସ୍ୱଭାବତଃ ଗୁଣମୟ; ସେ କେବେ ଗୁଣମାନଙ୍କୁ ଅତିକ୍ରମ କରେନାହିଁ। କାର୍ଯ୍ୟରେ ସେ ସେହି ଗୁଣମାନଙ୍କୁ ହିଁ ବ୍ୟବହାର କରେ, ଏବଂ ସ୍ୱଭାବତଃ ଅଜ୍ଞ।

Word by Word

• गुणस्वभावः: the nature constituted of guṇas
• गुणस्वभावः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुणस्वभाव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• अव्यक्तः: the unmanifest (prakṛti)
• अव्यक्तः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अव्यक्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• गुणान्: the guṇas
• गुणान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुण
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• अतिवर्तते: transgresses/oversteps
• Type: Verb
• Root: अति√वृत्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Atmanepada

• उपयुङ्क्ते: employs/uses
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप√युज्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Atmanepada

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• तान्: those (guṇas)
• तान्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• एव: only/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• सः: it/he (that unmanifest)
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• एव: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• अज्ञः: ignorant/without knowledge
• अज्ञः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अज्ञ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• स्वभावतः: by nature/naturally
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वभाव
• Form: tasil (ablatival adverb)

Speaker

याज़्वल्क्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yājñavalkya
• Avyakta (Prakṛti)
• Guṇas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Prakṛti (the unmanifest) is entirely constituted by the guṇas and functions only through them; it cannot transcend them and is itself non-cognitive. This implies that genuine knowledge is not a property of Prakṛti but pertains to the conscious principle (ātman/puruṣa).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the didactic discourse of Śānti Parva, Yājñavalkya explains a Sāṅkhya-style distinction: the unmanifest Nature operates through its qualities and is inherently without knowledge, setting up a framework for understanding bondage and liberation through discriminative insight.