Shloka 31

अश्वशिरो-आख्यानम्

Aśvaśiras / Hayaśiras Narrative: Retrieval of the Vedas

Devanagari script

तस्मादव्यक्तमुत्पन्न॑ त्रिगुणं द्विजसत्तम । अव्यक्ता व्यक्तभावस्था या सा प्रकृतिरव्यया,जो सूक्ष्म, अज्ञेय, अव्यक्त, अचल और ध्रुव है, जो इन्द्रियों, विषयों और सम्पूर्ण भूतोंसे परे है, वही सब प्राणियोंका अन्तरात्मा है; अतः क्षेत्रज् नामसे कहा जाता है, वही त्रिगुणातीत तथा पुरुष कहलाता है। उसीसे त्रिगुणमय अव्यक्तकी उत्पत्ति हुई है। द्विजश्रेष्ठ! उसीको व्यक्तभावमें स्थित, अविनाशिनी अव्यक्त प्रकृति कहा गया है

Transliteration

tasmād avyaktam utpannaṁ triguṇaṁ dvijasattama | avyaktā vyaktabhāvasthā yā sā prakṛtir avyayā ||

Translation

Nārada disse: “Portanto, ó melhor dos duas-vezes-nascidos, dessa Realidade suprema surge o princípio não manifesto, dotado das três guṇas. Essa Prakṛti imperecível é chamada ‘não manifesta’ mesmo permanecendo na condição de manifestação—sutil, incognoscível, inexprimível, imóvel e constante; além dos sentidos, de seus objetos e de todos os seres. Ela é o Si interior de todas as criaturas; por isso é dita o Conhecedor do Campo (kṣetrajña), transcendendo as três guṇas e chamada Puruṣa. E dela, novamente, afirma-se que se origina o não manifesto de três guṇas.”

Word by Word

तस्मात्from that; therefore

अव्यक्तम्the unmanifest (principle)

उत्पन्नम्arisen; produced

त्रिगुणम्consisting of the three guṇas

द्विजसत्तमO best of the twice-born

अव्यक्ताunmanifest

व्यक्तभावस्थाabiding in the state of manifestation

याwhich

साthat

प्रकृतिःPrakṛti; primordial nature

अव्ययाimperishable

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

dvijasattama (addressed brāhmaṇa sage)

Prakṛti

Puruṣa

kṣetrajña

three guṇas (sattva, rajas, tamas)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse distinguishes the imperishable inner Self (kṣetrajña/puruṣa), which is beyond the three guṇas, from Prakṛti, the unmanifest principle associated with the guṇas. It teaches that the true Self is subtle, constant, beyond senses and objects, and is the inner witness of all beings—knowledge of which supports liberation-oriented discernment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada is instructing a brāhmaṇa sage within the Śānti Parva’s mokṣa-oriented discourse. He explains the cosmological and psychological framework of Sāṅkhya: from the supreme, guṇa-transcending Self, the guṇa-bearing unmanifest Prakṛti is spoken of as arising, and Prakṛti is described as ‘unmanifest’ even when it appears as the manifest world.