Shloka 36
जनक–पराशर संवादः — वर्ण-गोत्र-धर्मविचारः
Janaka–Parāśara: Varṇa, Gotra, and Dharma Inquiry
आश्रयो नास्ति सत्त्वस्य गुणसर्गेण चेतना । सत्त्वमस्य सृजन्त्यन्ये गुणान् वेद कदाचन,बुद्धि जब सत्त्वादि गुणोंकी सृष्टि करती है, उस समय जीवात्मा उसका आश्रय नहीं होता। अन्य गुणोंकी रचना बुद्धि ही करती है और उन गुणोंको जीव कभी जानता है
āśrayo nāsti sattvasya guṇasargeṇa cetanā | sattvam asya sṛjanty anye guṇān veda kadācana ||
Ketika buddhi memancarkan penciptaan guṇa, Ātman yang sadar bukanlah sandaran bagi permainan sattva yang tercipta itu. Buddhi pula yang membentuk guṇa-guṇa lainnya; namun jiwa yang berjasad hanya jarang benar mengenali guṇa-guṇa itu sebagaimana ia bekerja.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes the conscious Self (cetanā/jīva) from the guṇas produced in prakṛti through buddhi. Sattva and the other guṇas are seen as constructed/manifested phenomena, while true consciousness is not their material support; wisdom is to know the guṇas as guṇas and not identify them with the Self.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on liberation-oriented philosophy. Here he explains how the intellect’s activity gives rise to the guṇic field of experience, and how the embodied self seldom recognizes these guṇas correctly—setting up the need for discernment and detachment.