Shloka 9
उशनसः (शुक्रस्य) चरितम् — The Account of Uśanā (Śukra): Yoga, Grievance, and Pacification
यथाजञ्जनमयो वायु: पुनर्मान:शिलं रज: । अनुप्रविश्य तद्वर्णो दृश्यते रज्जयन् दिश:
yathāñjanamayo vāyuḥ punarmānaḥśilaṃ rajaḥ | anupraviśya tadvarṇo dṛśyate rajjayan diśaḥ ||
毗湿摩以鲜明的譬喻阐释道：“譬如一阵夹带如眼药般黑暗的风，吹入雄黄那红黄之尘，便被看作染上了同样的色泽，行走之间仿佛把四方都涂染；同样地，自我本性无色、无定质，当被昏沉之无明（tamas）所覆，又为业果所染，便似乎取受那些‘色’，承当种种有身之法相与性分，在一切众生的身中流转徘徊。”
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.