Shloka 9
उशनसः (शुक्रस्य) चरितम् — The Account of Uśanā (Śukra): Yoga, Grievance, and Pacification
यथाजञ्जनमयो वायु: पुनर्मान:शिलं रज: । अनुप्रविश्य तद्वर्णो दृश्यते रज्जयन् दिश:,जैसे अन्धकारमयी वायु मैनसिलके लाल-पीले चूर्णमें प्रवेश करके उसीके रंगसे युक्त हो सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंको रँगती दिखायी देती है, उसी प्रकार स्वभावत: वर्णविहीन यह जीवात्मा तमोमय अज्ञानसे आवृत और कर्मफलसे रंजित हो वही वर्ण ग्रहण कर अर्थात् विभिन्न शरीरोंके धर्मोंकोी स्वीकार करके समस्त प्राणियोंके शरीरोंमें घूमता रहता है
yathāñjanamayo vāyuḥ punarmānaḥśilaṃ rajaḥ | anupraviśya tadvarṇo dṛśyate rajjayan diśaḥ ||
यथाञ्जनमयो वायुः पुनर्मानःशिलं रजः। अनुप्रविश्य तद्वर्णो दृश्यते रञ्जयन् दिशः॥
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.