Shloka 48

An Exposition of the Distinctions of Creation, Inert Matter, and the Lord

Devanagari script

श्रीकृष्ण उवाच / राशीभूतगुणानां तु त्रयणामपि सत्तम / तदा विमिश्रितत्वेन ह्यवस्थानं विदुर्बुधाः

Transliteration

śrīkṛṣṇa uvāca / rāśībhūtaguṇānāṃ tu trayaṇāmapi sattama / tadā vimiśritatvena hyavasthānaṃ vidurbudhāḥ

Translation

พระศรีกฤษณะตรัสว่า: โอ้ผู้ประเสริฐ เมื่อตรีคุณรวมตัวเป็นก้อนเดียว บัณฑิตย่อมรู้ว่าในกาลนั้นสภาวะของมันเป็นการปะปนกลมกลืนซึ่งกันและกัน

Word by Word

• श्रीकृष्णः: Śrī Kṛṣṇa
• श्रीकृष्णः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रीकृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—श्री + कृष्ण (कर्मधारय)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (क्रिया/Verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• राशीभूतगुणानाम्: of the qualities that have become aggregated
• राशीभूतगुणानाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राशीभूतगुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; समासः—राशीभूत + गुण (तत्पुरुष)

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थ

• त्रयाणाम्: of the three
• त्रयाणाम्: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (गणनावाचक), षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), समुच्चय/अप्यर्थ

• सत्तम: O best of the good
• सत्तम: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Vocative address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• विमिश्रितत्वेन: by/through the state of being mixed
• विमिश्रितत्वेन: Karana (करण/Instrument-means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विमिश्रितत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; भाववाचक-त्व प्रत्यय

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• अवस्थानम्: the condition/state
• अवस्थानम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवस्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• विदुः: know
• विदुः: Kriya (क्रिया/Verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारार्थे (present sense) परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; रूपम्—विदुः (irregular present)

• बुधाः: the wise (people)
• बुधाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बुध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

Speaker

Śrī Kṛṣṇa

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: In dissolution, the three guṇas, though ‘heaped/consolidated’, persist as a mixed potential (vimiśritatva), not as differentiated functions.

Vedantic Theme: Causal state (kāraṇa-avasthā) where distinctions are latent; prakṛti’s guṇas remain but without manifest asymmetry.

Application: Recognize that mental states are guṇa-mixtures; cultivate sattva by observing mixtures rather than identifying with them.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Cross References

Related Themes: 3.4.47 (question on sāmya); 3.4.49 (transition to vaiṣamya at sṛṣṭi)

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Kṛṣṇa
• Guṇas (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas)

FAQs

What is the importance of the three guṇas in the Garuda Purana?

This verse highlights that the three guṇas are not always separate; the wise recognize that lived experience and manifested states arise from their intermixture.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

By stressing guṇic intermixture, it implies that a jīva’s tendencies and outcomes are shaped by blended sattva-rajas-tamas; spiritual progress involves discerning and refining this mixture toward sattva and clarity.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Observe which guṇa dominates your choices (clarity, restlessness, or inertia) and deliberately cultivate sattva through ethical conduct, discipline, and study to reduce harmful rajas-tamas mixtures.