Shloka 27
जनक–पराशर संवादः — वर्ण-गोत्र-धर्मविचारः
Janaka–Parāśara: Varṇa, Gotra, and Dharma Inquiry
अविद्या रागमोहौ च प्रमाद: स्तब्धता भयम्
avidyā rāga-mohau ca pramādaḥ stabdhatā bhayam | yadi kasyāṁcit prakāreṇa avidyā rāga moha pramāda stabdhatā bhaya daridratā dīnatā pramohaḥ (mūrcchā) svapna nidrā ālasya-ādayo doṣā āgheratāṁ tarhi tān tamo-guṇasyaiva vividha-rūpān jānīyāt |
Bhishma said: Ignorance, attachment and delusion, heedlessness, mental rigidity, and fear—if in any manner these arise and surround a person, along with poverty, dejection, stupefaction (fainting), dreaming, sleep, and laziness and the like—then one should recognize them as nothing but the many manifestations of tamas (the dark, inert quality).
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
These faults—ignorance, attachment, delusion, negligence, rigidity, fear, and related states like sleep and laziness—are to be understood as expressions of tamas. The remedy implied is to reduce tamas by cultivating awareness, discipline, and clarity.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and inner discipline, Bhishma is teaching Yudhishthira to interpret certain mental and behavioral failings as manifestations of the tamasic quality, helping him classify and address them systematically.