Shloka 34
अव्यक्त-गुण-पुरुषविवेकः | Avyakta, Guṇas, and Discrimination of Puruṣa
क्रियां कियापथे रक्तस्त्रिगुणां त्रिगुणाधिप: । क्रियां क्रियापथोपेतस्तथा तदिति मन्यते
kriyāṁ kriyāpathe raktaḥ triguṇāṁ triguṇādhipaḥ | kriyāṁ kriyāpathopetas tathā tad iti manyate ||
婆悉吒说道：当自我为三德（guṇa）之主，却执著于行（业）的道路时，便把由诸德所生的原质（Prakṛti）之三重活动认作“我之所为”。如此一来，因将自身与其法则为生起与坏灭的自然运作相认同，便把一切由德性造成的结果都据为己有，视作自己的行为与占有。
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even though the Self is said to be the ‘lord’ over the guṇas, when it becomes attached to action it mistakenly identifies Prakṛti’s guṇa-born activities as ‘mine’. The verse points to the ethical-spiritual remedy: discernment and non-appropriation (non-doership) to loosen bondage created by identification.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on liberation-oriented dharma, Vasiṣṭha explains how bondage arises: the witnessing Self, by entering the karma-path with attachment, superimposes ownership on the workings of three-guṇa Prakṛti—whose nature is continual creation and dissolution.