Shloka 36
जनक–पराशर संवादः — वर्ण-गोत्र-धर्मविचारः
Janaka–Parāśara: Varṇa, Gotra, and Dharma Inquiry
आश्रयो नास्ति सत्त्वस्य गुणसर्गेण चेतना । सत्त्वमस्य सृजन्त्यन्ये गुणान् वेद कदाचन
āśrayo nāsti sattvasya guṇasargeṇa cetanā | sattvam asya sṛjanty anye guṇān veda kadācana ||
毗湿摩说道：“当智性投射出诸性（guṇa）显现的戏剧时，有觉知的自我并非那所生之萨特瓦（sattva）的‘依止’或基底。诸余诸性亦由智性所造作；然而具身之我，往往难得真正了知这些诸性在运作时的情状。此教旨在于辨别：解脱在于认知诸性乃自然（prakṛti）之产物，而不将其误作自我。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes the conscious Self (cetanā/jīva) from the guṇas produced in prakṛti through buddhi. Sattva and the other guṇas are seen as constructed/manifested phenomena, while true consciousness is not their material support; wisdom is to know the guṇas as guṇas and not identify them with the Self.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on liberation-oriented philosophy. Here he explains how the intellect’s activity gives rise to the guṇic field of experience, and how the embodied self seldom recognizes these guṇas correctly—setting up the need for discernment and detachment.