Shloka 3

Devanagari script

सात््विकस्योत्तमं स्थानं राजसस्येह मध्यमम्‌

Transliteration

sāttvikasyottamaṃ sthānaṃ rājasasyeha madhyamam

Translation

যাজ্ঞবল্ক্য বললেন—সাত্ত্বিকের জন্য সর্বোচ্চ পদ; কিন্তু রাজস প্রবৃত্তির জন্য এখানে মধ্যম অবস্থাই নির্ধারিত।

Word by Word

• सात्त्विकस्य: of the sāttvika (quality/type)
• सात्त्विकस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सात्त्विक
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• उत्तमम्: highest, best
• उत्तमम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• स्थानम्: place; state; position
• स्थानम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• राजसस्य: of the rājasa (quality/type)
• राजसस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: राजस
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• इह: here; in this context/world
• इह: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह

• मध्यमम्: middle; intermediate
• मध्यमम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मध्यम
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

Speaker

याज़्वल्क्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yājñavalkya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse ranks spiritual outcomes according to the predominance of guṇas: sattva leads to the highest attainment (a superior spiritual state), whereas rajas yields only an intermediate result. It encourages cultivation of clarity, restraint, and inner purity over passion-driven action.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, the sage Yājñavalkya is instructing on ethical-spiritual psychology, explaining how one’s inner disposition (sattva vs. rajas) determines the level of one’s attained ‘state’ or destination.