Shloka 1

तमोगुण-निरूपण

Analysis of Tamas and its Marks

Devanagari script

अपन कराता बछ। रस: षटत्रिशो<ध्याय: ब्रह्माजीके द्वारा तमोगुणका

Transliteration

brahmovāca | tad avyaktam anudriktaṁ sarvavyāpi dhruvaṁ sthiram | navadvāraṁ puraṁ vidyāt triguṇaṁ pañcadhātukam |

Translation

梵天说道：“那不显现的自性（Prakṛti，阿毗耶克塔）——不为扰动、遍一切处、不坏且坚住——应当被理解为根本。当三种德性（guṇa）离开均衡之时，便转化为五种元素成分，由此生起‘九门之城’（具身之有情）。”

Word by Word

• ब्रह्मा: Brahmā
• ब्रह्मा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said/spoke
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect, 3, Singular

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अव्यक्तम्: unmanifest
• अव्यक्तम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अव्यक्त
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अनुद्रिक्तम्: not agitated/undisturbed
• अनुद्रिक्तम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनुद्रिक्त
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• सर्वव्यापि: all-pervading
• सर्वव्यापि: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्वव्यापिन्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• ध्रुवम्: fixed/constant
• ध्रुवम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ध्रुव
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• स्थिरम्: stable
• स्थिरम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्थिर
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• नवद्वारम्: having nine gates
• नवद्वारम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नवद्वार
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• पुरम्: city (body)
• पुरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• विद्यात्: should know/understand
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद्
• Form: Optative, 3, Singular

• त्रिगुणम्: consisting of three guṇas
• त्रिगुणम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रिगुण
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• पञ्चधातुकम्: made of five elements/constituents
• पञ्चधातुकम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्चधातुक
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Avyakta (Prakṛti)
• Triguṇa (sattva-rajas-tamas)
• Pañca-mahābhūta (five elements)
• Navadvāra-pura (the body as the nine-gated city)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Creation and embodiment are explained through Sāṅkhya categories: the unmanifest Prakṛti remains stable in guṇa-equilibrium, but when the guṇas become imbalanced, the five elements arise and the embodied ‘nine-gated city’ (the body) is formed.

What is happening in the narrative?

A doctrinal discourse is underway: Brahmā instructs sages about the metaphysical origin of the body and the cosmos, using the image of the body as a city with nine gates and grounding it in the dynamics of the three guṇas.