Shloka 14
अध्यात्म-तत्त्व-निर्णयः
Adhyātma Taxonomy: Elements, Faculties, and Guṇas
आश्रयो नास्ति सत्त्वस्य गुणा: शब्दो न चेतना । सत्त्वं हि तेज: सृजति न गुणान् वै कथंचन
āśrayo nāsti sattvasya guṇāḥ śabdo na cetanā | sattvaṃ hi tejaḥ sṛjati na guṇān vai kathaṃcana ||
毗耶娑说：萨埵（sattva，智性之原理）自身并无外在所依与基底；诸德（guṇa）、声、乃至觉知亦非其所依。因为萨埵能生起提阇斯（tejas，光明之能），却绝不产生诸德。其旨在于分明：理智对于某些显现（如照明与澄澈）是近因，却并非三德构成之原质（Prakṛti）的究竟根基；反之，理智自身亦被视为因果链条中的一果。
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse argues that sattva/buddhi should not be treated as the ultimate substratum of reality: it can be a cause for certain manifestations (like tejas/illumination), but it is not the source of the guṇas themselves. This supports a layered causality where intellect is not the first principle but part of Prakṛti’s evolutes, while the guṇas remain fundamental to Prakṛti.
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Vyāsa is presenting a philosophical clarification—using Sāṅkhya-like categories—to disentangle what depends on what: body and sensory phenomena are not the ground of intellect, and intellect is not the ground of the guṇas. The passage advances the larger instruction on liberation through correct discrimination of principles.