Shloka 16
Jarā-Mṛtyu-anatikrama: Janaka–Pañcaśikha-saṃvāda
Aging and Death Cannot Be Overstepped
गुणा गुणेषु लीयन्ते तदैका प्रकृतिर्भवेत् क्षेत्रज्ञीडपि यदा तात तरक्षेत्रे सम्प्रलीयते,तात! जब कार्यभूत गुण कारणभूत गुणोंमें लीन हो जाते हैं, उस समय सब कुछ एकमात्र प्रकृतिस्वरूप हो जाता है तथा जब क्षेत्रज्ञ भी परमात्मामें लीन हो जाता है, तब उसका भी पृथक् अस्तित्व नहीं रहता
guṇā guṇeṣu līyante tadaikā prakṛtir bhavet | kṣetrajño 'pi yadā tāta para-kṣetre sampralīyate ||
वसिष्ठ उवाच—गुणा गुणेषु लीयन्ते तदैका प्रकृतिर्भवेत् । क्षेत्रज्ञोऽपि यदा तात तत्र क्षेत्रे सम्प्रलीयते ॥
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches reabsorption at dissolution: the guṇas return to their causal state so that manifestation collapses into prakṛti, and even the individual knower (kṣetrajña) loses separateness when merged into the Supreme reality—pointing to the end of individuality in ultimate absorption.
Vasiṣṭha is instructing a listener addressed as “tāta,” explaining a metaphysical sequence of cosmic and individual dissolution: first the constituents of nature (guṇas) merge back, and ultimately the individual consciousness (kṣetrajña) is said to merge into the Supreme, leaving no distinct personal identity.