Shloka 33
एवमेतां विकुर्वाण: सर्गप्रलयधर्मिणीम्
evam etāṃ vikurvāṇaḥ sarga-pralaya-dharmiṇīm, trigunamayīṃ prakṛtiṃ vikṛtya, trīṇāṃ guṇānāṃ svāmī ātmā karma-mārge ’nuraktaḥ pravṛttaś ca san, tayā prakṛtyā bhavamānaṃ pratyekaṃ triguṇātmakaṃ kāryaṃ svakam iva manyate.
अशा प्रकारे सर्ग-प्रलय-स्वभाव असलेल्या त्या प्रकृतीचे विकार घडवीत, त्रिगुणांचा अधिपती आत्मा कर्ममार्गात अनुरक्त होऊन प्रवृत्त होतो; आणि प्रकृतीने उत्पन्न होणाऱ्या प्रत्येक त्रिगुणात्मक कार्याला मोहयुक्त होऊन ‘हे माझे’ असे मानू लागतो.
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even though the Self is, in essence, sovereign over the three guṇas, when it becomes attached to action and identifies through Prakṛti, it mistakenly claims guṇa-born effects as ‘mine.’ This misidentification is a key mechanism of bondage; freedom lies in discerning Self from Prakṛti and loosening possessiveness.
Vasiṣṭha is explaining a philosophical account of how embodied experience arises: Prakṛti, characterized by cycles of creation and dissolution, produces guṇa-made effects; the Self, turning toward the path of action, becomes involved and adopts a sense of ownership over those effects.