Shloka 17
Jarā-Mṛtyu-anatikrama: Janaka–Pañcaśikha-saṃvāda
Aging and Death Cannot Be Overstepped
तदा क्षरत्वं प्रकृतिर्गच्छते गुणसंश्रिता । निर्गुणत्वं च वैदेह गुणेष्वप्रतिवर्तनात्,विदेहराज! उस समय त्रिगुणमयी प्रकृति क्षरत्व (नाश) को प्राप्त होती है और पुरुष भी गुणोंमें प्रवृत्त न होनेके कारण निर्गुण (गुणातीत) हो जाता है
tadā kṣaratvaṁ prakṛtir gacchate guṇa-saṁśritā | nirguṇatvaṁ ca vaideha guṇeṣv aprativartanāt, videha-rāja |
Vasiṣṭha dijo: «En ese momento, Prakṛti—apoyada en los tres guṇa—cae en la condición perecedera y mudable. Pero el Puruṣa, oh Vaideha, se vuelve “sin guṇa” (más allá de su dominio), porque no se vuelve hacia los guṇa ni se involucra en ellos. Oh rey de Videha, ésta es la distinción: la naturaleza se somete a la decadencia por su actividad atada a los guṇa, mientras que el Sí mismo se libera por la no implicación».
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Prakṛti is inherently changeful and perishable because it operates through the guṇas; the Puruṣa (self) is realized as beyond the guṇas when it does not identify with or engage in guṇa-driven activity. Liberation is framed as non-involvement (asaṅga) with the guṇas.
Vasiṣṭha instructs the king of Videha (Janaka) in a Sāṅkhya-style distinction between nature (Prakṛti) and the self (Puruṣa), explaining how Prakṛti tends toward decay while the self becomes ‘nirguṇa’ through disengagement from the guṇas.