Shloka 1
Adhyāya 314 — हिमवदाश्रमः, शक्तिक्षेपकथा, तथा स्वाध्यायविधिः
Himalayan Hermitage, the Myth of the Thrown Spear, and Rules of Vedic Study
अपन काता बछ। 2 चतुर्दशाधिकत्रिशततमो< ध्याय: सात्त्विक
yājñavalkya uvāca | ete pradhānasya guṇās trayaḥ puruṣasattama | kṛtsnasya caiva jagatas tiṣṭhanty anapagāḥ sadā ||
耶若婆迦言：“人中最胜者啊，原质（Prakṛti，亦称主质）之三德——萨埵（sattva）、罗阇（rajas）、昏暗（tamas）——恒常安住；遍满一切世界，未尝离去。”
याज़्वल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The universe is continually constituted by the three guṇas—sattva, rajas, and tamas—understood as inseparable modes of Pradhāna (primordial Nature). Ethical and spiritual progress is framed as understanding and regulating these modes rather than imagining a world free of them.
In the Shānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, Yājñavalkya begins an explanation (in response to a royal interlocutor, traditionally Janaka in this section) by stating the foundational principle that the three guṇas pervade all beings and the entire cosmos at all times.