Shloka 21
Vimokṣa-niścaya: Pañcaśikha’s Analysis of Aggregates, Guṇas, and Tyāga (मोक्षनिर्णयः)
सम्मोहकं तमो विद्यात् कृष्णमज्ञानसम्भवम् | प्रीतिदुःखनिबद्धांश्व समस्तांस्त्रीनथो गुणान्,अहंकार सात्त्विक, राजस और तामस तीन प्रकारका होता है। तमोगुण मोहमें डालनेवाला तथा अन्धकारके समान काला है। उसे अज्ञानसे उत्पन्न हुआ समझना चाहिये। प्रीति उत्पन्न करनेवाले भाव सात्त्विक हैं और दुःख देनेवाले राजस। इस प्रकार इन समस्त त्रिविध गुणोंका स्वरूप जानना चाहिये
bhīṣma uvāca | sammohakaṃ tamo vidyāt kṛṣṇam ajñāna-sambhavam | prīti-duḥkha-nibaddhāṃś ca samastāṃs trīn atho guṇān |
Bhishma said: One should understand tamas as the power that bewilders—dark like blackness—and born of ignorance. Among the three qualities (guṇas) that bind all beings, those dispositions that give rise to contentment and affection are sāttvika, while those that generate suffering are rājasa. Thus should the nature of the threefold guṇas be discerned.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma defines the ethical-psychological markers of the guṇas: tamas is delusion and darkness arising from ignorance; sattva is associated with clarity and pleasant, affectionate states; rajas is associated with agitation that culminates in suffering. The teaching urges discernment of these inner forces to guide conduct toward dharma.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on right living and inner discipline, Bhishma continues his counsel by classifying mental dispositions through the framework of the three guṇas, explaining how they manifest and how they bind beings.