Shloka 68

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच तिस््र: प्रकृतयो राजन्‌ देहबन्धेषु निर्मिता: । सात्त्विकी राजसी चैव तामसी चैव भारत,वैशम्पायनजीने कहा--भरतनन्दन! शरीरके बन्धनमें बँधे हुए जो जीव हैं, उनके लिये ईश्वरने तीन प्रकारकी प्रकृतियाँ बनायी हैं--सातक्चिकी, राजसी और तामसी

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca tisraḥ prakṛtayo rājan dehabandheṣu nirmitāḥ | sāttvikī rājasī caiva tāmasī caiva bhārata ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: O King, for embodied beings bound within the fetters of the body, the Lord has fashioned three dispositions (prakṛtis): the sāttvika, the rājasika, and the tāmasika, O scion of Bharata. The teaching frames moral psychology—how one’s inner constitution shapes conduct, responsibility, and the path toward clarity or bondage.

Word by Word

वैशम्पायनःVaishampayana

उवाचsaid

तिस्रःthree

प्रकृतयःnatures, constitutions (gunas)

राजन्O king

देहबन्धेषुin the bonds of the body

निर्मिताःcreated, fashioned

सात्त्विकीsattvic

राजसीrajasic

चand

एवindeed, just

तामसीtamasic

चand

एवindeed, just

भारतO Bharata (descendant of Bharata)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Bhārata (addressee, the king)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Embodied life is shaped by three fundamental dispositions—sattva, rajas, and tamas. Ethical behavior and spiritual progress depend on recognizing which tendency predominates and cultivating sattva (clarity and balance) while restraining rajas (agitation) and tamas (delusion).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Vaiśampāyana addresses the king (a Bhārata descendant) and introduces a framework for understanding human conduct: the Lord has constituted three types of prakṛti for beings bound to the body, preparing the ground for further instruction on their traits and consequences.