Mahabharata — Ashvamedhika Parva, Shloka 38
Mind as Charioteer; Kṣetrajña, Tapas, and Dhyāna-Yoga
Adhyātma-Upadeśa
तत्रैकगुणमाकाशं द्विगुणो वायुरुच्यते । त्रिगुणं ज्योतिरित्याहुरापश्चापि चतुर्गुणा:
tatraikaguṇam ākāśaṃ dviguṇo vāyur ucyate | triguṇaṃ jyotir ity āhur āpaś cāpi caturguṇāḥ ||
Wika ng diyos na si Vāyu: “Sa limang dakilang elemento, ang kalawakan ay sinasabing may iisang katangian. Ang hangin ay inilalarawang may dalawa. Ang apoy ay ipinahahayag na may tatlo, at ang tubig naman ay sinasabing may apat.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a hierarchy of the elements by the number of perceptible qualities (guṇas) they manifest: space has one, wind two, fire three, and water four—indicating increasing complexity as creation becomes more tangible.
Vāyu-deva is instructing the listener in a doctrinal explanation of the constituents of the world (the mahābhūtas), using the traditional scheme of counting their qualities to clarify how subtle reality differentiates into grosser forms.