Shloka 9
उशनसः (शुक्रस्य) चरितम् — The Account of Uśanā (Śukra): Yoga, Grievance, and Pacification
यथाजञ्जनमयो वायु: पुनर्मान:शिलं रज: । अनुप्रविश्य तद्वर्णो दृश्यते रज्जयन् दिश:
yathāñjanamayo vāyuḥ punarmānaḥśilaṃ rajaḥ | anupraviśya tadvarṇo dṛśyate rajjayan diśaḥ ||
ビーシュマは鮮やかな譬えで説いた。「たとえば、コール（眼薬）のような闇を含んだ風が、雄黄の赤黄の粉塵に入りこむと、その色を帯びたかのように見え、吹き過ぎるまま四方を染める。まさにそのように、自己は本来、無色で定まった性質を持たぬが、タマスの無明に覆われ、業の果に染められると、それらの『色』を帯びたかのように現れ、身ある生のさまざまな性分を受け入れて、あらゆる生きものの身体を巡り漂うのだ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The self is intrinsically unqualified and unstained, but due to ignorance (tamas/avidyā) and the residual effects of karma, it appears to take on the qualities of the bodies it inhabits—much like wind seeming colored by the dust it passes through.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction, Bhishma is teaching about the mechanism of bondage: how the jīva, though essentially pure, seems to acquire ‘colors’ (attributes) through contact with ignorance and karmic results, thereby moving through various embodied states.