Shloka 15
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
तदेव बहुभिमर्माल्यैर्वास्यथमानं पुनः पुनः । विमुञज्चति स्वकं गन्धं माल्यगन्धे च तिष्ठति
tad eva bahubhir marmālyair vāsyathamānaṃ punaḥ punaḥ | vimuñcati svakaṃ gandhaṃ mālyagandhe ca tiṣṭhati ||
Bhīṣma dijo: «Ese mismo aceite de sésamo o de mostaza, cuando es perfumado una y otra vez con muchas guirnaldas de flores fragantes, abandona su olor nativo y llega a morar en la fragancia de las guirnaldas. Del mismo modo, la masa de faltas puesta en movimiento por las tres guṇas—sattva, rajas y tamas—y fortalecida durante cientos de nacimientos por el trato con esposa, hijos y semejantes, puede cesar mediante el entendimiento y el esfuerzo sostenido nacido de una práctica disciplinada.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Repeated association and sustained practice can transform one’s ingrained tendencies: just as oil repeatedly infused with floral scent relinquishes its own odor and takes on the garland’s fragrance, so too long-accumulated faults driven by the three guṇas can be reduced and ended through discernment (buddhi) and disciplined practice (abhyāsa) supported by deliberate effort (yatna).
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on inner discipline and the workings of the guṇas, Bhīṣma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira using a concrete household analogy (oil absorbing perfume) to explain how deep-seated dispositions formed over many lives and reinforced by worldly attachments can nevertheless be altered through understanding and sustained spiritual-ethical effort.