Shloka 41
Adhyāya 302: Guṇa-vicāra, Gati-bheda, and the Imperishable State
Yājñavalkya–Janaka
सर्गप्रलयधर्मिण्या असर्गप्रलयात्मक: । गोचरे वर्तते नित्यं निर्गुणं गुणसंज्ञितम्
sargapralayadharmiṇyā asargapralayātmakaḥ | gocare vartate nityaṃ nirguṇaṃ guṇasaṃjñitam ||
婆悉吒说道：生起与坏灭本是自性（Prakṛti）的法则；而补卢沙（Puruṣa）在真实中不为生灭所染。然因与自性相系，他便显得仿佛与那生灭之流相缠。虽非诸根所缘之境，却似落入根境之内；虽超越诸德（guṇa），却又被称作有德——此皆由接触与迷误所生之相，并非其真实本性。
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Creation and dissolution belong to Prakṛti, not to the true Self (Puruṣa). Because consciousness is associated with Prakṛti, it is mistakenly taken to be a doer/experiencer within the sensory world and described as possessing guṇas, though in reality it is beyond sense-objects and beyond qualities.
Vasiṣṭha is instructing about the distinction between Prakṛti and Puruṣa in a reflective, philosophical discourse of the Śānti Parva, clarifying how the Self seems entangled in worldly processes (sarga/pralaya, sense-experience, guṇas) due to association and misidentification.