Shloka 3
Yoga, Nārāyaṇa as Supreme Principle, and the Emanation of Categories
Sāṅkhya-Yoga Outline
रजस्तम: सत्त्वमथो तृतीयं गच्छत्यसौ स्थानगुणान् विरूपान् | तथेन्द्रियाण्याविशते शरीरी हुताशनं वायुरिवेन्धनस्थम्
Bhīṣma uvāca | rajastamaḥ sattvam atho tṛtīyaṁ gacchaty asau sthānaguṇān virūpān | tathendriyāṇy āviśate śarīrī hutāśanaṁ vāyur ivendhanastham ||
毗湿摩曰：“具身之我历经三德（guṇa）——罗阇（rajas）、昏暗（tamas）与第三之清明（sattva）——入于其种种差别之相与处，每一处皆具不同之性。亦复如是，内住之灵入诸根中：如风入于薪中之火，使之炽然；如是我以其临在，令诸根得觉，遂能领受乐、苦及诸种差别之境，皆随彼诸相而起。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The Self, while distinct, experiences life through the changing modes (guṇas) of nature—sattva, rajas, and tamas. These modes generate different states and qualities (such as pleasure and pain), and the embodied Self ‘enters’ the senses to cognize them, enlivening the faculties the way wind intensifies fire in fuel.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira about the inner constitution of experience. He explains how the guṇas shape mental and sensory states and uses the wind-and-fire simile to show how the indwelling Self activates the senses.