Brahma-vidyā: Satya–Tapas and the Enumeration of Tattvas
Arjuna–Vāsudeva framed dialogue
तत्त्वानि यो वेदयते यथातथं गुणांश्व सर्वानखिलांश्व देवता: । विधूतपाप्मा प्रविमुच्य बन्धनं स सर्वलोकानमलान् समश्षुते
tattvāni yo vedayate yathātathaṁ guṇāṁś ca sarvān akhilāṁś ca devatāḥ | vidhūtapāpmā pravimucya bandhanaṁ sa sarvalokān amalān samaśnute ||
Vāyu-deva disse: “Quem conhece verdadeiramente, como realmente são, os princípios fundamentais (tattvas), todas as qualidades (guṇas) e toda a hoste de deidades—seus pecados são sacudidos e se desfazem. Livre do cativeiro, ele vem a participar dos mundos divinos, imaculados, e a fruir de sua bem-aventurança.”
वायुदेव उवाच
True knowledge of reality—understanding the tattvas, the guṇas, and the divine order—purifies one from sin and breaks bondage, culminating in liberation-like freedom and access to pure, exalted realms.
Vāyu-deva is instructing the listener by stating a general spiritual principle: correct, comprehensive understanding of the constituents of existence and the deities results in moral purification and release from binding limitations, leading to enjoyment of higher, stainless worlds.