Shloka 9
कर्तृत्वाच्चापि बीजानां बीजधर्मा तथोच्यते । गुणानां प्रसवत्वाच्च प्रलयत्वात् तथैव च,तथा स्थावर पदार्थोंके बीजोंका कर्ता होनेसे उसे बीजधर्मा कहते हैं। साथ ही वह गुणोंकी उत्पत्ति और प्रलयका कर्ता है, इसलिये गुणधर्मा कहलाता है
kartṛtvāc cāpi bījānāṃ bījadharmā tathocyate | guṇānāṃ prasavatvāc ca pralayatvāt tathaiva ca ||
Yājñavalkya said: “Because it is the agent that brings forth the seeds (the causal principles of beings), it is therefore called ‘Bīja-dharma’ (having the nature of seed). And because it is also the cause of the manifestation of the guṇas and likewise their dissolution, it is called ‘Guṇa-dharma’ (having the nature of the guṇas) as well.”
याज़्वल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
A single causal principle is described as both the ‘seed’ of beings and the regulator of the guṇas: it manifests the qualities that constitute experience and also withdraws them in dissolution. Ethically, this supports vairāgya and viveka—do not cling to guṇa-made states (pleasure, power, identity), but seek the stable ground beyond their arising and passing.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on liberation-oriented knowledge, the sage Yājñavalkya explains technical terms for the ultimate/causal principle by pointing to its functions: it serves as the source (bīja) for entities and as the cause of both the emergence and the dissolution (pralaya) of the guṇas.