Shloka 35
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
तामसानां च जनन््तूनां रमणीयावृतात्मनाम् । सात््विकानां च जन््तूनां कुत्सितं भरतर्षभ
tāmasānāṁ ca jantūnāṁ ramaṇīyāvṛtātmanām | sāttvikānāṁ ca jantūnāṁ kutsitaṁ bharatarṣabha ||
Bhīṣma said: “O bull among the Bharatas, what is deemed blameworthy is this: that beings of tamasic nature, their inner selves veiled by alluring pleasures, and even beings of sattvic nature, can be drawn into what is base. Therefore one must be vigilant about the mind’s coverings and the pull of delight, for they can corrupt discernment across temperaments.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma highlights that the mind can be ‘covered’ by attractive pleasures (ramaṇīya), leading to blameworthy conduct (kutsita). Ethical vigilance and self-mastery are needed because even those inclined to sattva can be pulled toward baseness when discernment is obscured.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and inner discipline. Here he contrasts temperaments (tamas and sattva) and warns that alluring objects can veil the inner self, producing censurable outcomes.