Shloka 8
Śraddhā–Guṇa–Vibhāga Yoga (Faith and the Three Guṇas) — Mahābhārata Book 6, Chapter 39
इन्द्रियार्थेषु वैराग्यमनहंकार4“5 एव च । जन्ममृत्युजराव्याधिदु:ःखदोषानुदर्शनम्
indriyārtheṣu vairāgyam anahaṅkāra eva ca | janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam ||
Arjuna sprach: Loslösung von den Gegenständen der Sinne und Freiheit vom Egoismus; sowie eine klare, standhafte Betrachtung der Mängel, die dem Leiden innewohnen — Geburt, Tod, Alter und Krankheit. Diese Haltungen gelten als Kennzeichen wahrer Unterscheidungskraft: Sie wenden den Geist von flüchtiger Befriedigung ab und richten ihn auf das Dauerhafte und sittlich Erhebende.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights inner qualifications for wisdom: (1) detachment from sensory objects (vairāgya), (2) absence of egoism (anahaṅkāra), and (3) sustained contemplation of the inherent defects in worldly existence—birth, death, aging, and disease—so that one does not mistake transient pleasures for lasting good.
Within Bhīṣma Parva’s philosophical instruction, Arjuna is presented as voicing (or reciting) a list of virtues/insights that characterize right understanding. The focus shifts from battlefield externals to the ethical-psychological discipline needed for clarity and steadfastness.