Shloka 2

कार्त्तिकेय-जन्मोपक्रमः

Prelude to the Birth of Kārttikeya/Skanda

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मण उवाच सत्त्वस्य रजसश्वैव तमसश्न यथातथम्‌ । गुणांस्तत्त्वेन मे ब्रूहि यथावदिह पृच्छत:,ब्राह्मण बोला--्याध! मैं यहाँ यथोचितरूपसे एक प्रश्न उपस्थित करता हूँ। वह यह है कि सत्त्व, रज और तमका गुण (स्वरूप) क्या है? यह मुझे यथार्थरूपसे बताओ

Transliteration

brāhmaṇa uvāca sattvasya rajasas caiva tamasaś ca yathātatham | guṇāṁs tattvena me brūhi yathāvad iha pṛcchataḥ ||

Translation

Sinabi ng brāhmaṇa: “Ipaliwanag mo sa akin, ayon sa tunay na kalagayan, ang mga katangian ng sattva, rajas, at tamas. Yamang nagtatanong ako rito sa wastong paraan, ilahad mo nang tumpak ang kanilang tunay na likas.”

Word by Word

{'brāhmaṇaḥ''a Brahmin

here, the questioner', 'uvāca''said

spoke', 'sattvasya''of sattva

the quality of clarity, balance, and lucidity', 'rajasaḥ''of rajas

the quality of passion, activity, and restlessness', 'tamasaḥ''of tamas

the quality of inertia, darkness, and delusion', 'ca eva''and indeed

and also', 'yathātatham''as it really is

in accordance with the true state', 'guṇān''qualities

constituent modes of nature/character', 'tattvena''in truth

according to reality/essence', 'me''to me', 'brūhi': 'tell

explain', 'yathāvat''properly

in due form', 'iha''here

in this context', 'pṛcchataḥ''of one who asks

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

ब

ब्राह्मण (Brāhmaṇa)

स

सत्त्व (Sattva)

र

रजस् (Rajas)

त

तमस् (Tamas)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a disciplined inquiry into the three guṇas—sattva, rajas, and tamas—asking for their true characteristics. Ethically, it signals that right conduct and right understanding depend on discerning the inner qualities that drive thought and action.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Brahmin, in dialogue with a teacher-figure (contextually the Dharma-vyādha episode), formally poses a question: he requests an accurate description of the nature of the three guṇas, setting up the subsequent instruction.