Shloka 23
Vimokṣa-niścaya: Pañcaśikha’s Analysis of Aggregates, Guṇas, and Tyāga (मोक्षनिर्णयः)
कामक्रोधौ प्रमादक्ष॒ लोभमोहौ भयं कलम: । विषादशोकावरतिर्मानदर्पावनार्यता,अब मैं तुम्हें सत््वगुण, रजोगुण और तमोगुणके कार्य बताता हूँ, सुनो। प्रसन्नता, हर्षजनित प्रीति, संदेहका अभाव, धैर्य और स्मृति--इन सबको सत्त्वगुणके कार्य समझो। काम, क्रोध, प्रमाद, लोभ, मोह, भय, क्लान्ति, विषाद, शोक, अप्रसन्नता, मान, दर्प और अनार्यता--इन्हें रजोगुण और तमोगुणके कार्य समझना चाहिये
kāmakrodhau pramādakṣa lobhamohau bhayaṁ klamaḥ | viṣādaśokāvaratir mānadarpāvanāryatā ||
Bhīṣma said: Desire and anger, heedlessness, greed and delusion, fear and exhaustion; dejection, grief, lack of delight (discontent), pride, arrogance, and uncouthness—these are to be understood as the effects that arise from rajas and tamas. In ethical terms, they are the inner forces that disturb clarity, weaken self-restraint, and pull a person away from steady discernment and dharmic conduct.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma classifies disruptive mental states—such as desire, anger, greed, delusion, fear, fatigue, grief, pride, and arrogance—as products of rajas and tamas. The lesson is that recognizing these as guṇa-driven tendencies helps one restrain them and cultivate sattva, which supports clear judgment and dharmic behavior.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on conduct and inner discipline, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira about the guṇas. Here he lists the traits that arise from rajas and tamas, contrasting them (in the surrounding passage) with sattvic qualities that promote steadiness and ethical clarity.