Shloka 1
ब्रह्मघोष-प्रवर्तनम्, अनध्याय-नियमः, वायु-मार्ग-वर्णनम्
Restoring Vedic Recitation, the Anadhyaya Rule, and the Taxonomy of Winds
ऑपन-माजल बछ। अकाल ३१-२-दो गुणोंके मेलको द्वद्ध और तीन गुणोंके मेलको संनिपात कहते हैं। पज्चदर्शाधिकत्रिशततमोध्याय: प्रकृति-पुरुषका विवेक और उसका फल याज़्वल्क्य उवाच न शक््यो निर्गुणस्तात गुणीकर्तु विशाम्पते । गुणवांश्षाप्पगुणवान् यथातत्त्वं निबोध मे
Yājñavalkya uvāca | na śakyo nirguṇas tāta guṇīkartuṁ viśāmpate | guṇavāṁś cāpy aguṇavān yathātattvaṁ nibodha me ||
阎若伐迦说道：“孩子啊——众民之主啊——无相无德者（nirguṇa）不可使之成为有相有德（saguṇa）；有相有德者亦不可使之成为无相无德。此中真实之理，且听我如实道来。”
याज़्वल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts an ontological distinction: the nirguṇa (beyond the guṇas of prakṛti) cannot be turned into saguṇa, nor can the saguṇa be made nirguṇa. This frames the need for viveka—discriminating puruṣa (the witness) from prakṛti (the guṇa-made field).
In Śānti Parva’s philosophical instruction, the sage Yājñavalkya addresses a ruler (“lord of the people”) and begins a teaching on the true nature of guṇas and the distinction between the unconditioned and the conditioned.