Shloka 33
अव्यक्त-गुण-पुरुषविवेकः | Avyakta, Guṇas, and Discrimination of Puruṣa
एवमेतां विकुर्वाण: सर्गप्रलयधर्मिणीम्,सृष्टि और प्रलय जिसके धर्म हैं, उस त्रिगुणमयी प्रकृतिको विकृत करके तीनों गुणोंका स्वामी आत्मा कर्ममार्गमें अनुरक्त और प्रवृत हो उस प्रकृतिके द्वारा होनेवाले प्रत्येक त्रिगुणात्मक कार्यको अपना मान लेता है
evam etāṃ vikurvāṇaḥ sarga-pralaya-dharmiṇīm, trigunamayīṃ prakṛtiṃ vikṛtya, trīṇāṃ guṇānāṃ svāmī ātmā karma-mārge ’nuraktaḥ pravṛttaś ca san, tayā prakṛtyā bhavamānaṃ pratyekaṃ triguṇātmakaṃ kāryaṃ svakam iva manyate.
So verändert er jene Prakṛti, deren Wesen Schöpfung und Auflösung ist; und das Selbst – obgleich Herr der drei Guṇas – hängt sich an den Pfad des Handelns und tritt in ihn ein. Durch eben diese Prakṛti hält es sodann jede Wirkung, die aus den drei Guṇas gemacht ist, für „mein“.
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even though the Self is, in essence, sovereign over the three guṇas, when it becomes attached to action and identifies through Prakṛti, it mistakenly claims guṇa-born effects as ‘mine.’ This misidentification is a key mechanism of bondage; freedom lies in discerning Self from Prakṛti and loosening possessiveness.
Vasiṣṭha is explaining a philosophical account of how embodied experience arises: Prakṛti, characterized by cycles of creation and dissolution, produces guṇa-made effects; the Self, turning toward the path of action, becomes involved and adopts a sense of ownership over those effects.