Shloka 1
Bhūta-guṇa-saṃkhyāna
Enumeration of the Properties of the Elements and Cognitive Faculties
: डि अष्टचत्वारिशर्दाधिकद्विशततमो< ध्याय: बुद्धिकी श्रेष्ठता और प्रकृति-पुरुष-विवेक व्यास उवाच मनो विसृजते भावं बुद्धिरध्यवसायिनी । हृदयं प्रियाप्रिये वेद त्रिविधा कर्मचोदना
vyāsa uvāca | mano visṛjate bhāvaṃ buddhir adhyavasāyinī | hṛdayaṃ priyāpriye veda trividhā karmacodanā ||
毗耶娑说道：“吾子啊，行为之发动有三种推动。首先，意（manas）仅以一念而起，便投射并造作种种心相；继而，智（buddhi）加以裁定与决断；随后，心（hṛdaya）便直接感受其为可喜或可憎。由此三重驱策，人遂趋入行动。”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Human action arises from a threefold inner process: the mind generates intentions and mental images, the intellect fixes a decision, and the heart registers the felt valence—pleasant or unpleasant—thereby completing the inner prompting that leads to outward action.
In the Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Vyāsa addresses his son and begins a reflective teaching on how karma is initiated within a person, preparing the ground for deeper discrimination (viveka) between prakṛti and puruṣa.