Shloka 9
Adhyāya 39 — त्रिगुणविवेकः (Discrimination of the Three Guṇas) and Avyakta-Doctrine
सत्त्वं वैकारिकी योनिरिन्द्रियाणां प्रकाशिका । न हि सत्त्वातू परो धर्म: कश्चिदन्यो विधीयते,सत्त्वगुण इन्द्रियोंकी उत्पत्तिका कारण है, उसे वैकारिक हेतु मानते हैं। वह इन्द्रियों और उनके विषयोंको प्रकाशित करनेवाला है। सत्त्वमुणसे बढ़कर दूसरा कोई धर्म नहीं बताया गया है
sattvaṁ vaikārikī yonir indriyāṇāṁ prakāśikā | na hi sattvāt paro dharmaḥ kaścid anyo vidhīyate ||
Vāyu disse: “Sattva é a fonte transformadora (vaikārika) da qual surgem os sentidos; é aquilo que ilumina os sentidos e torna manifestos os seus objetos. De fato, nenhum outro dharma é prescrito como mais elevado do que sattva.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates sattva—clarity and purity of mind—as the highest ethical principle: it is the luminous condition that both gives rise to refined sense-functioning and enables right discernment, so no higher dharma is taught than cultivating sattva.
In Ashvamedhika Parva, Vāyu speaks in a didactic mode, explaining a Sāṅkhya-like account of the guṇas and the senses, emphasizing that sattva is the illuminating source and the supreme standard for righteous living.