Shloka 17
Jarā-Mṛtyu-anatikrama: Janaka–Pañcaśikha-saṃvāda
Aging and Death Cannot Be Overstepped
तदा क्षरत्वं प्रकृतिर्गच्छते गुणसंश्रिता । निर्गुणत्वं च वैदेह गुणेष्वप्रतिवर्तनात्
tadā kṣaratvaṁ prakṛtir gacchate guṇa-saṁśritā | nirguṇatvaṁ ca vaideha guṇeṣv aprativartanāt, videha-rāja |
विदेहराज! उस समय त्रिगुणमयी प्रकृति गुणों पर आश्रित होकर क्षरत्व (नाश और परिवर्तन) को प्राप्त होती है; पर पुरुष गुणों की ओर न मुड़ने, उनमें प्रवृत्त न होने के कारण निर्गुण (गुणातीत) हो जाता है—यही भेद है।
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.