Shloka 13
अव्यक्त–प्रकृति–इन्द्रियविचारः
The Unmanifest, Prakṛtis, and the Sense-Complex
यथा तिलानामिह पुष्पसंश्रयात् पृथक्पृथग्याति गुणो5तिसौम्यताम् । तथा नराणां भुवि भावितात्मनां यथा<<श्रयं सत्त्वगुण: प्रवर्तते
yathā tilānām iha puṣpa-saṁśrayāt pṛthak-pṛthag yāti guṇo ’ti-saumyatām | tathā narāṇāṁ bhuvi bhāvitātmanāṁ yathāśrayaṁ sattva-guṇaḥ pravartate ||
Sebagaimana biji wijen, dengan berlindung di antara bunga-bunga harum, masing-masing dengan caranya sendiri memperoleh sifat wewangian yang amat lembut, demikian pula di bumi watak manusia yang batinnya terolah menjadi dipenuhi guna sattva sesuai dengan pergaulan yang mereka jadikan sandaran.
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A person’s inner qualities are strongly shaped by association: as sesame absorbs fragrance from nearby flowers, the cultivated-minded person’s nature becomes sattvic when they rely on the company of the virtuous.
Parāśara is instructing through an analogy, explaining how moral and psychological qualities (especially sattva) arise and strengthen in humans depending on the kind of people and influences they keep close.