Shloka 78
Atithi-satkāra and the Consolation of Wise Counsel (अतिथिसत्कारः प्रज्ञानवचनस्य च पराश्वासनम्)
निराशी: कर्मसंयुक्त: सत्त्वतश्नाप्पकल्मष: । सात्त्वतज्ञानदृष्टोडहं सत्त्वतामिति सात्त्वत:ः
nirāśīḥ karmasaṁyuktaḥ sattvataś cāpy akalmaṣaḥ | sāttvata-jñāna-dṛṣṭo 'haṁ sattvatām iti sāttvataḥ ||
(dhanañjaya! ahaṁ pūrvaṁ kadācid api sattvāc cyuto na bhūtaḥ | sattvaṁ matta eva utpannam iti manyasva | mama tat purātanaṁ sattvam asmin avatāra-kāle 'pi vidyate | sattva-kāraṇād eva ahaṁ pāpa-rahitaḥ niṣkāma-karmaṇi pravṛtto bhavāmi | bhagavat-prāpta-puruṣāṇāṁ sāttvata-jñānena (pañcarātrādi-vaiṣṇava-tantraiḥ) mama svarūpa-bodho bhavati | etaiḥ kāraṇaiḥ lokā māṁ “sāttvata” iti vadanti |)
Free from craving, engaged in action, and by virtue of sattva unstained by sin, I am known through Sāttvata-knowledge; therefore I am called “Sāttvata.” O Dhanañjaya, I have never fallen away from sattva. Know sattva to have arisen from me; that ancient purity of mine remains present even in this incarnation. Because of sattva I remain sinless while acting without desire. Those who have attained the Lord understand my true nature through Sāttvata-knowledge (the Vaiṣṇava teachings such as the Pāñcarātra). For these reasons people call me “Sāttvata.”
तामिन्द्र उवाच गच्छ नहुषस्त्वया वाच्योथ<पूर्वेण मामृषियुक्तेन यानेन त्वमधिरूढ
Educational Q&A
Purity (sattva) enables desireless action: one can remain actively engaged in karma while being free from craving and moral stain. The verse also links true understanding of the divine nature to sāttvata-jñāna—disciplined devotional knowledge—suggesting that ethical action and spiritual insight arise from the same inner clarity.
The speaker explains why he is called “Sāttvata”: he is inherently established in sattva, never deviates from it, and therefore acts without selfish desire and without sin. He further states that realized devotees comprehend his true form through Sāttvata-knowledge (associated with Vaiṣṇava traditions like the Pāñcarātra).