Adhyāya 302: Guṇa-vicāra, Gati-bheda, and the Imperishable State
Yājñavalkya–Janaka
कृत्स्नमेतावतस्तात क्षरते व्यक्तसंज्ञितम् । अहन्यहनि भूतात्मा तत: क्षर इति स्मृत:,हे तात! यह सम्पूर्ण पांचभौतिक जगत् व्यक्त कहलाता है और प्रतिदिन इसका क्षरण होता है, इसलिये इसको क्षर कहते हैं
kṛtsnam etāvatās tāta kṣarate vyaktasaṃjñitam | ahany ahani bhūtātmā tataḥ kṣara iti smṛtaḥ ||
ବସିଷ୍ଠ କହିଲେ—ହେ ତାତ! ଏହି ସମଗ୍ର ‘ବ୍ୟକ୍ତ’ ନାମରେ ପରିଚିତ ଜଗତ ନିରନ୍ତର କ୍ଷୟ ପାଉଛି। ଦିନକୁ ଦିନ ଭୂତାତ୍ମାର କ୍ଷରଣ ହୁଏ; ତେଣୁ ଏହା ‘କ୍ଷର’ ବୋଲି ସ୍ମୃତ।
वसिष्ठ उवाच
That the manifest, perceptible world (vyakta) is inherently perishable (kṣara) because it undergoes continual decay day after day; recognizing this supports detachment and discernment between the transient and the enduring.
Vasiṣṭha is instructing a younger interlocutor (‘tāta’) in a philosophical explanation: he defines why the visible, five-element-based realm is called ‘kṣara’—because it is constantly subject to diminution and dissolution.