Mahabharata 6.46.36 — Bhishma Parva, Adhyaya 46, Shloka 36
भीष्मविक्रमदर्शनं तथा क्रौञ्चारुणव्यूहविधानम् | Bhīṣma’s Ascendancy and the Organization of the Krauñcāruṇa Formation
सम्बन्ध-- इस प्रकार सात्विकी बुद्धि और ध्ृतिका ग्रहण तथा राजसी-तामसीका त्याग करनेके लिये बुद्धि और धृतिके सात्तिक आदि तीन-तीन भेद क्रमसे बतलाकर अब जिसके लिये मनुष्य समस्त कर्म करता है; उस सुखके भी सात्विक, राजस और तामस--इस प्रकार तीन भेद क्रमसे बतलाते हैं-- सुखं तल्विदानीं त्रिविधं शृणु मे भरतर्षभ । अभ्यासाद् रमते यत्र दुःखान्तं च निगच्छति,हे भरतश्रेष्ठ! अब तीन प्रकारके सुखको भी तू मुझसे सुन। जिस सुखमें साधक मनुष्य भजन, ध्यान और सेवादिके अभ्याससे रमण करता है* और जिससे दु:खोंके अन्तको प्राप्त हो जाता है*-- जो ऐसा सुख है, वह आरम्भकालमें यद्यपि विषके तुल्य प्रतीत होता है,* परंतु परिणाममें अमृतके तुल्य है;* इसलिये वह परमात्मविषयक बुद्धिके प्रसादसे उत्पन्न होनेवाला सुख+ सात्त्विक कहा गया है
sukhaṁ tv idānīṁ trividhaṁ śṛṇu me bharatarṣabha | abhyāsād ramate yatra duḥkhāntaṁ ca nigacchati ||
O best of the Bharatas, now hear from me of the threefold nature of happiness. That happiness in which a disciplined seeker delights through repeated practice, and by which one reaches the end of sorrow—though it seems like poison at the beginning, it becomes like nectar in the end; therefore it is called sāttvika happiness, born of the clarity and grace of right understanding turned toward the Self (Ātman).
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Happiness is not uniform: the sāttvika kind arises from disciplined practice and right understanding, feels difficult at first, but culminates in lasting well-being and the cessation of sorrow.
In the midst of instruction on the three guṇas, the speaker turns to classify ‘sukha’ (happiness) into three types, beginning with the sāttvika form characterized by practice and a transformative outcome.
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