Shloka 17
Jarā-Mṛtyu-anatikrama: Janaka–Pañcaśikha-saṃvāda
Aging and Death Cannot Be Overstepped
तदा क्षरत्वं प्रकृतिर्गच्छते गुणसंश्रिता । निर्गुणत्वं च वैदेह गुणेष्वप्रतिवर्तनात्
tadā kṣaratvaṁ prakṛtir gacchate guṇa-saṁśritā | nirguṇatvaṁ ca vaideha guṇeṣv aprativartanāt, videha-rāja |
婆悉吒说道：“在那时，依止于三德（guṇa）的原质（Prakṛti）便堕入可坏、可变之境；而补卢沙（Puruṣa），噢毗提诃（Vaideha），由于不转向、不参与诸德，遂成‘无德’（nirguṇa，超越诸德之制约）。毗提诃之王啊，此即分别：自然因受德所缚之作为而趋于败坏，而真我因不涉入而得解脱。”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Prakṛti is inherently changeful and perishable because it operates through the guṇas; the Puruṣa (self) is realized as beyond the guṇas when it does not identify with or engage in guṇa-driven activity. Liberation is framed as non-involvement (asaṅga) with the guṇas.
Vasiṣṭha instructs the king of Videha (Janaka) in a Sāṅkhya-style distinction between nature (Prakṛti) and the self (Puruṣa), explaining how Prakṛti tends toward decay while the self becomes ‘nirguṇa’ through disengagement from the guṇas.