Shloka 16
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
एवं जातिशतैरयुक्तो गुणैरेव प्रसज्धिषु । बुद्धा निवर्तते दोषो यत्नेनाभ्यासजेन ह,“वही तिल या सरसोंका तेल बहुत-से सुगन्धित पुष्पोंद्वारा बारंबार वासित होनेपर अपनी गन्धको छोड़ देता है और उस फूलकी गन्धमें ही स्थित हो जाता है। उसी प्रकार सैकड़ों जन्मोंमें स्त्री-पुत्र आदिके संसर्गसे युक्त तथा सत्त्व, रज और तम--इन तीनों गुणोंद्वारा प्रवर्तित दोषसमूह बुद्धि तथा अभ्यासजनित यत्नसे निवृत्त हो पाता है
evaṁ jātiśatair yukto guṇair eva prasajjiṣu | buddhā nivartate doṣo yatnenābhyāsajena ha ||
Bhīṣma said: Thus, a person bound through hundreds of births—entangled in the play of the guṇas and repeatedly drawn into attachments—can still turn back from fault and moral blemish by awakened understanding and by sustained effort born of disciplined practice. As oil infused again and again with fragrant flowers relinquishes its own odor and takes on the flowers’ scent, so too the mind long conditioned by worldly contacts can be re-scented by wisdom and repeated training, withdrawing from its habitual defects.
भीष्म उवाच