Shloka 22
Śuka–Janaka Saṃvāda: Āśrama-krama, Jñāna-vijñāna, and the Marks of Liberation (शुक-जनक संवादः)
परापवादेषु रतिर्विवादानां च सेवनम् | अहंकारमसत्कारकश्िन्ता वैरोपसेवनम्,रूप, ऐश्वर्य, विग्रह, त्यागकका अभाव, करुणाका अभाव, दुःख-सुखका उपभोग, परनिन्दामें प्रीति, वाद-विवाद करना, अहंकार, माननीय पुरुषोंका सत्कार न करना, चिन्ता, वैरभाव रखना, संताप करना, दूसरोंका धन हड़प लेना, निर्लज्जता, कुटिलता, भेदबुद्धि, कठोरता, काम, क्रोध, मद, दर्द, द्वेष और बहुत बोलनेका स्वभाव--यह रजोगुणका समूह है। ये सारे भाव रजोगुणके कार्य बताये गये हैं। अब मैं तामस भावोंके समूहका परिचय देता हूँ, ध्यान देकर सुनो
parāpavādeṣu ratir vivādānāṁ ca sevanam | ahaṅkāram asatkāraś cintā vairopasevanam | rūpam aiśvaryaṁ vigrahas tyāga-kṣamā-abhāvaḥ karuṇā-abhāvaḥ duḥkha-sukha-upabhogaḥ para-nindāyāṁ prītiḥ vāda-vivāda-karaṇam ahaṅkāraḥ mānīya-puruṣāṇāṁ satkāraṁ na karoti cintā vairabhāvaḥ santāpaḥ para-dhana-haraṇam nirlajjatā kuṭilatā bheda-buddhiḥ kaṭhoratā kāmaḥ krodho madaḥ darpaḥ dveṣaś ca bahu-bhāṣitva-svabhāvaḥ—eṣa rajo-guṇasya samūhaḥ | ete sarve bhāvā rajo-guṇasya kāryāṇi proktāḥ | adhunā tāmasa-bhāvānāṁ samūhaṁ paricakṣe; dhyānena śṛṇu |
Yājñavalkya said: “Delight in slander, and the habit of engaging in disputes; egoism; failure to honor the worthy; anxious brooding; cultivating enmity; attachment to beauty and display; lordliness and power; quarrelsomeness; lack of generosity and forbearance; absence of compassion; indulgence in pleasures and pains; pleasure in censuring others; contentious argument; pride; neglect of venerable persons; worry; hostility; inner torment; seizing another’s wealth; shamelessness; crookedness; a divisive mindset; harshness; desire; anger; intoxication with self-importance; arrogance; hatred; and a tendency to talk excessively—this is the cluster of qualities belonging to rajas. All these dispositions are declared to be the workings of the rajas-guṇa. Now I shall describe the group of tamasic dispositions; listen with attention.”
याज़्वल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse catalogues the mental and behavioral traits that arise from rajas—restless passion and ego-driven activity—such as quarrelsomeness, pride, envy, harshness, and delight in criticizing others. It frames these as ethical markers for self-examination, then transitions to a forthcoming description of tamasic traits.
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, the sage Yājñavalkya is instructing his listener(s) on the guṇas. Having identified a ‘cluster’ of rājasa dispositions and declared them to be rajas-born effects, he announces that he will next explain the group of tamasic dispositions and asks for attentive listening.