Shloka 43
Adhyāya 302: Guṇa-vicāra, Gati-bheda, and the Imperishable State
Yājñavalkya–Janaka
तम:सत्त्वरजोयुक्तस्तासु तास्विह योनिषु । नियते प्रतिबुद्धित्वादबुद्धजनसेवनात्
tamaḥ-sattva-rajo-yuktas tāsu tāsviha yoniṣu | niyate pratibuddhitvād abuddha-jana-sevanāt prakṛtike saṁsarga-vaśaḥ hi saḥ sattva-guṇaṁ rajo-guṇaṁ tamo-guṇaṁ ca yuktaḥ bhavati; ajñānī-manuṣya-saṅgāt teṣām iva ātmānaṁ śarīra-sthaṁ manyamānaḥ saḥ tāsu tāsu sāttvika-rājasa-tāmasa-yoniṣu janma gṛhṇāti ||
婆悉吒说道：由于与自性接触的驱迫，具身之我便与三德（guṇa）相应：萨埵（sattva）、罗阇（rajas）、怛摩（tamas）。又因亲近愚昧之人，并以坚固习气妄想自己寄居于身中，便随其相应而一再受生于相应之胎藏——或萨埵性、或罗阇性、或怛摩性。
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Association shapes consciousness: under Prakṛti’s influence the self becomes colored by sattva, rajas, and tamas; keeping company with the unwise strengthens body-identification, which in turn leads to rebirth in corresponding sāttvika, rājasa, or tāmasa forms.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on liberation and conduct, Vasiṣṭha explains to his listener how the jīva’s entanglement with the guṇas—especially through bad company and mistaken self-identification—drives repeated births in different kinds of embodiments.