Shloka 3
Yoga, Nārāyaṇa as Supreme Principle, and the Emanation of Categories
Sāṅkhya-Yoga Outline
रजस्तम: सत्त्वमथो तृतीयं गच्छत्यसौ स्थानगुणान् विरूपान् | तथेन्द्रियाण्याविशते शरीरी हुताशनं वायुरिवेन्धनस्थम्
Bhīṣma uvāca | rajastamaḥ sattvam atho tṛtīyaṁ gacchaty asau sthānaguṇān virūpān | tathendriyāṇy āviśate śarīrī hutāśanaṁ vāyur ivendhanastham ||
Bhishma disse: “O Ser encarnado atravessa as três guṇas—rajas, tamas e a terceira, sattva—entrando em seus diversos modos e condições, cada qual marcado por qualidades distintas. Do mesmo modo, o ser interior penetra nos sentidos: como o vento entra no fogo alojado no combustível e o faz arder, assim o Ser, por sua presença, desperta os sentidos e torna possível a experiência do prazer, da dor e dos demais estados diversos que surgem nesses modos.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The Self, while distinct, experiences life through the changing modes (guṇas) of nature—sattva, rajas, and tamas. These modes generate different states and qualities (such as pleasure and pain), and the embodied Self ‘enters’ the senses to cognize them, enlivening the faculties the way wind intensifies fire in fuel.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira about the inner constitution of experience. He explains how the guṇas shape mental and sensory states and uses the wind-and-fire simile to show how the indwelling Self activates the senses.