Shloka 11
Yājñavalkya on the Unity of Sāṃkhya and Yoga and the Marks of Meditative Composure
तथैवाप्रतिबुद्धो 5पि विज्ञेयो नृपसत्तम । प्रकृतेस्त्रिगुणायास्तु सेवनात् त्रिगुणो भवेत्
tathaivāpratibuddho 'pi vijñeyo nṛpasattama | prakṛtes triguṇāyās tu sevanāt triguṇo bhavet ||
Vasiṣṭha dijo: «Del mismo modo, oh el mejor de los reyes, debe entenderse que incluso quien aún no ha despertado llega a discernir por la compañía de los que disciernen. Asimismo, por el contacto y la continua implicación con Prakṛti, constituida por las tres guṇas, incluso el Sí mismo que trasciende las guṇas llega a parecer como si estuviera hecho de las tres guṇas».
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Association shapes consciousness: even an unawakened person can become discerning by keeping company with the discerning. Philosophically, the verse adds that the Self, though beyond guṇas, appears guṇa-bound due to sustained contact with Prakṛti—highlighting how identification and proximity create the experience of bondage.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and right understanding, Vasiṣṭha addresses a king, using an analogy about companionship and then extending it to Sāṅkhya-style metaphysics: contact with Prakṛti makes the guṇa-transcendent Self seem to take on the qualities of the three guṇas.