Shloka 62
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
ज्ञानयोगेन सांख्येन व्यापिना महता नृप । राजसानशुभान् गन्धांस्तामसांश्व॒ तथाविधान्,राजन्! भरतनन्दन! महाबुद्धिमान् सांख्यके विद्वान् सैकड़ों गुणोंके द्वारा गुणोंको, सैकड़ों दोषोंके द्वारा दोषोंको तथा सैकड़ों विचित्र हेतुओंसे विचित्र हेतुओंको तत्त्वतः जानकर व्यापक ज्ञानके प्रभावसे संसारको पानीके फेनके समान नश्वर, विष्णुकी सैकड़ों मायाओंसे ढँका हुआ, दीवारपर बने हुए चित्रके समान, नरकुलके समान सारहीन, अन्धकारसे भरे हुए गड़्ढेकी भाँति भयंकर, वर्षाकालके पानीके बुलबुलोंके समान क्षणभंगुर, सुखहीन, पराधीन, नष्टप्राय तथा कीचड़में फँसे हुए हाथीकी तरह रजोगुण और तमोगुणमें मग्न समझते हैं। इसलिये वे संतान आदिकी आसक्तिको दूर करके तपरूप दण्डसे युक्त विवेकरूपी शस्त्रसे राजस-तामस अशुभ गन्धोंको और सुन्दर शोभनीय सात््विक गन्धोंको तथा स्पर्शेन्द्रियके देहाश्रित भोगोंकी आसक्तिको शीघ्र ही काट डालते हैं
jñānayogena sāṅkhyena vyāpinā mahatā nṛpa | rājasān aśubhān gandhāṁs tāmasāṁś ca tathāvidhān ||
Bhishma said: “O king, by the great, all-pervading Sāṅkhya grounded in the Yoga of knowledge, the wise discern in truth the unwholesome ‘scents’ (tendencies) born of rajas and the like-born tendencies of tamas. Seeing the world through the power of comprehensive insight as perishable like foam on water—veiled by countless māyās of Viṣṇu, insubstantial like a painted image on a wall, terrifying like a dark pit, momentary like rain-bubbles, joyless, dependent, near to ruin, and sunk in rajas and tamas like an elephant trapped in mire—they quickly cut off attachment to progeny and other bonds, severing both the inauspicious rajasic-tamasic impulses and even the attractive, refined sāttvic allurements, by the weapon of discrimination, supported by the discipline of austerity.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Through Sāṅkhya-based knowledge (jñānayoga), one should recognize the subtle impulses of rajas and tamas as ethically harmful and see worldly existence as fragile and deceptive; with austerity and discrimination, one must cut attachment—even to seemingly ‘good’ sattvic refinements—so that liberation is not obstructed by any clinging.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira on liberation-oriented dharma. Here he describes how the truly wise analyze the guṇas and the world’s insubstantiality, then actively sever attachments using disciplined practice and discernment.