Shloka 181
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
न तु कुण्डे पयोभाव: पयश्चापि न मक्षिका । स्वयमेवाप्रुवन्त्येते भावा ननु पराश्रयम्
na tu kuṇḍe payobhāvaḥ payaścāpi na makṣikā | svayamevāpruvantyete bhāvā nanu parāśrayam ||
毗湿摩说道：“然而，器并不会因盛乳而成‘乳’，乳也不会变成蝇。此等依他而立的状态与属性，自会趋依于异于自身的所依（基体）。”
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma uses a simple analogy to show that qualities and states are dependent on an appropriate substratum: a container does not become the contained, and one entity does not transform into an unrelated entity merely by proximity. ‘Bhāvas’ (properties/conditions) inhere by dependence (parāśraya) in something other than themselves.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction, Bhīṣma is explaining a philosophical point to clarify how attributes relate to their supports—using the pot, milk, and fly as examples to correct mistaken assumptions about identity, transformation, and dependence.