Shloka 16
Jarā-Mṛtyu-anatikrama: Janaka–Pañcaśikha-saṃvāda
Aging and Death Cannot Be Overstepped
गुणा गुणेषु लीयन्ते तदैका प्रकृतिर्भवेत् क्षेत्रज्ञीडपि यदा तात तरक्षेत्रे सम्प्रलीयते
guṇā guṇeṣu līyante tadaikā prakṛtir bhavet | kṣetrajño 'pi yadā tāta para-kṣetre sampralīyate ||
瓦西什塔说道：“当显现之德（guṇa）复归于其因性之德时，一切便唯成一体之自然（prakṛti）。而当知田者（kṣetrajña），吾子啊，也融入至上的田域之中时，他亦不再保有任何独立的存在。”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches reabsorption at dissolution: the guṇas return to their causal state so that manifestation collapses into prakṛti, and even the individual knower (kṣetrajña) loses separateness when merged into the Supreme reality—pointing to the end of individuality in ultimate absorption.
Vasiṣṭha is instructing a listener addressed as “tāta,” explaining a metaphysical sequence of cosmic and individual dissolution: first the constituents of nature (guṇas) merge back, and ultimately the individual consciousness (kṣetrajña) is said to merge into the Supreme, leaving no distinct personal identity.