Shloka 51
अव्यक्त-गुण-पुरुषविवेकः | Avyakta, Guṇas, and Discrimination of Puruṣa
अलिड़्ो लिड्रमात्मानमकाल: कालमात्मन: | असत्त्वं सत्त्वमात्मानमतत्त्वं तत््वमात्मन:
aliḍo liḍram ātmānam akālaḥ kālam ātmanaḥ | asattvaṃ sattvam ātmānam atattvaṃ tattvam ātmanaḥ ||
Wika ni Vasiṣṭha: “Bagaman sa katotohanan ang Sarili ay hindi minamarkahan ng banayad na katawan (liṅga-śarīra), iniisip nitong minamarkahan ito. Bagaman lampas sa panahon, inaakala nitong nakagapos sa panahon at kamatayan. Bagaman higit sa mga guṇa, inaakala nitong binubuo ito ng sattva; at bagaman walang magagaspang na elemento at iba pang mga simulain, pinagkakamalan nitong isa itong ‘tattva’ sa gitna ng mga tattva. Sa ganitong maling pag-unawa, ang dalisay na Sarili ay itinuturing na hindi nito pagkatao.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that bondage is a cognitive error: the timeless, attributeless Self is falsely identified with the subtle body, time/death, the guṇas (like sattva), and the material principles (tattvas). Liberation follows from correcting this misidentification through discernment.
In Śānti Parva’s mokṣa-oriented instruction, Vasiṣṭha is explaining to his listener how the Self is misconstrued as embodied and perishable. He lists common superimpositions—subtle body, mortality, guṇas, and elements—to show the mechanism of delusion and the need for discriminative knowledge.