Shloka 17
Bhūta-guṇa-saṃkhyāna
Enumeration of the Properties of the Elements and Cognitive Faculties
यथा वारिचर: पक्षी न लिप्यति जले चरन् । विमुक्तात्मा तथा योगी गुणदोषैर्न लिप्यते,जैसे जलचर पक्षी जलमें विचरता हुआ भी उससे लिप्त नहीं होता, उसी प्रकार मुक्तात्मा योगी संसारमें रहकर भी उसके गुण और दोषोंसे लिपायमान नहीं होता
yathā vāricaraḥ pakṣī na lipyati jale caran | vimuktātmā tathā yogī guṇadoṣair na lipyate ||
వ్యాసుడు వివరించెను—జలచర పక్షి నీటిలో సంచరించినా నీటిచేత లిప్తమగనట్లు, విముక్తాత్ముడైన యోగి లోకవ్యవహారములో నివసించినా గుణదోషములచేత లిప్తమగడు.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
A truly liberated yogin remains inwardly unattached: even while living and acting in the world, he is not morally or psychologically stained by its attractions (guṇa) or defects (doṣa), just as a bird in water is not smeared by water.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Vyāsa is teaching through a vivid simile, clarifying how a person established in freedom can continue worldly life without being bound by it.