Shloka 15
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
तदेव बहुभिमर्माल्यैर्वास्यथमानं पुनः पुनः । विमुञज्चति स्वकं गन्धं माल्यगन्धे च तिष्ठति
tad eva bahubhir marmālyair vāsyathamānaṃ punaḥ punaḥ | vimuñcati svakaṃ gandhaṃ mālyagandhe ca tiṣṭhati ||
ビーシュマは言った。「その胡麻油や芥子油も、多くの芳香ある花鬘で繰り返し香りづけされるなら、自らの生来の匂いを捨て、花鬘の香りのうちにとどまる。同じく、三つのグナ—サットヴァ、ラジャス、タマス—によって動かされ、妻子などとの結びつきにより幾百の生を通じて強められてきた過失の群れも、理解の光と、規律ある修習から生まれる持続の精進とによって、ついには止滅へと導かれる。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Repeated association and sustained practice can transform one’s ingrained tendencies: just as oil repeatedly infused with floral scent relinquishes its own odor and takes on the garland’s fragrance, so too long-accumulated faults driven by the three guṇas can be reduced and ended through discernment (buddhi) and disciplined practice (abhyāsa) supported by deliberate effort (yatna).
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on inner discipline and the workings of the guṇas, Bhīṣma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira using a concrete household analogy (oil absorbing perfume) to explain how deep-seated dispositions formed over many lives and reinforced by worldly attachments can nevertheless be altered through understanding and sustained spiritual-ethical effort.