Shloka 16
जनक–पराशर संवादः — वर्ण-गोत्र-धर्मविचारः
Janaka–Parāśara: Varṇa, Gotra, and Dharma Inquiry
इन्द्रियाणि च कर्ता च विचेतव्यानि भागश: । तमः सत्त्वं रजश्चैव तेडपि भावास्तदाश्रया:
indriyāṇi ca kartā ca vicetavyāni bhāgaśaḥ | tamaḥ sattvaṃ rajaś caiva teḍ api bhāvās tadāśrayāḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “The senses and the doer (the embodied self) should be discerned separately, each according to its proper function and share in action. Likewise, darkness (tamas), clarity (sattva), and passion (rajas)—and the various dispositions that arise from them—are all dependent upon and lodged in that very self. Therefore, one should judge conduct by understanding which faculty acts, which quality predominates, and how the self becomes bound or freed through these qualities.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Discernment (viveka): distinguish the senses from the agent and understand how the three guṇas (sattva, rajas, tamas) and their resulting dispositions operate with the self as their locus. Ethical judgment and liberation-oriented practice depend on recognizing which faculty and which guṇa is driving behavior.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira by presenting an analytical framework: separate the roles of senses and agent, and interpret conduct through the dynamics of the guṇas and their mental states.