Shloka 33
अव्यक्तकालमान-निर्णयः
Measures of Time from the Unmanifest; Creation, Elements, and the Primacy of Mind
यदि सन्तं सेवति यद्यसन्तं तपस्विनं यदि वा स्तेनमेव । वासो यथा रंगवशं प्रयाति तथा स तेषां वशमभ्युपैति
yadi santaṁ sevati yady asantaṁ tapasvinaṁ yadi vā stenam eva | vāso yathā raṅgavaśaṁ prayāti tathā sa teṣāṁ vaśam abhyupaiti ||
If a person associates with the virtuous, or with the wicked; with an ascetic, or even with a thief—he comes under their influence. Just as cloth takes on the color into which it is dyed, so too does one become like those whose company one keeps, taking on their qualities and ways.
हंस उवाच
Educational Q&A
A person’s character is shaped by association: keeping company with the virtuous cultivates virtue, while associating with the wicked or criminals leads one to adopt their qualities—like cloth absorbing the dye it is placed in.
Haṁsa speaks in a didactic context within Śānti Parva, using a simple metaphor (cloth taking dye) to instruct that companionship and service/attendance (sevanā) place one under another’s influence, thereby transforming one’s conduct and disposition.