Shloka 49
अव्यक्त-गुण-पुरुषविवेकः | Avyakta, Guṇas, and Discrimination of Puruṣa
श्रोत्रादीनि तु सर्वाणि पञ्चकर्मेन्द्रियाण्यथ । वागादीनि प्रवर्तन्ते गुणेष्विह गुणी: सह
śrotrādīni tu sarvāṇi pañcakarmendriyāṇy atha | vāgādīni pravartante guṇeṣv iha guṇī saha ||
Wika ni Vasiṣṭha: “Sa daigdig na ito, ang lahat ng kakayahang pandama na nagsisimula sa pagdinig, at gayundin ang limang sangkap ng pagkilos na nagsisimula sa pananalita, ay kumikilos lamang kaugnay ng kani-kanilang mga katangian (guṇa). Ang may-katawang nilalang, kasama ang mga katangiang ito, ay gumaganap sa pamamagitan ng mga katawang binubuo ng mga guṇa.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the senses and organs of action do not act independently; they function only in connection with their corresponding guṇas/qualities. Ethical discipline and liberation-oriented insight begin by recognizing this guṇa-driven mechanism and reducing identification with it.
In Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Vasiṣṭha explains the constitution and operation of embodied life: the sensory and active faculties arise and work within the field of guṇas, showing how the individual’s experience and conduct are conditioned by nature’s qualities.