Shloka 30

Devanagari script

प्रवृत्ति च निवृत्ति च कार्याकार्ये भया भये । बन्ध॑ मोक्ष च या वेत्ति बुद्धि: सा पार्थ सातक््चिकी,हे पार्थ! जो बुद्धि प्रवृत्तिमार्ग- और निवृत्तिमार्गकोः कर्तव्य और अकर्तव्यको,* भय और अभयको” तथा बन्धन और मोक्षको* यथार्थ जानती है, वह बुद्धि सात््विकी है

Transliteration

pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca kāryākārye bhayābhaye | bandhaṁ mokṣaṁ ca yā vetti buddhiḥ sā pārtha sāttvikī ||

Translation

Arjuna dit : Est sāttvika, ô Pārtha, l’intelligence (buddhi) qui discerne clairement la voie de l’engagement (pravṛtti) et la voie du retrait (nivṛtti) ; ce qu’il faut faire et ce qu’il ne faut pas faire ; ce qu’il faut craindre et ce qu’il ne faut pas ; et ce qui mène à l’entrave comme ce qui mène à la délivrance (mokṣa).

Word by Word

प्रवृत्तिम्activity; the path of engagement

चand

निवृत्तिम्withdrawal; the path of renunciation

चand

कार्येin what ought to be done (duty)

अकार्येin what ought not to be done (prohibited act)

भयेin fear; in what is to be feared

अभयेin fearlessness; in what is not to be feared

बन्धम्bondage

मोक्षम्liberation

चand

याwhich (she/that)

वेत्तिknows

बुद्धिःintellect; understanding

साthat

पार्थO son of Pṛthā (Arjuna)

सात्त्विकीsattvic; pertaining to sattva

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna (Pārtha)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sāttvika intelligence is the capacity to discern correctly: when to act and when to refrain, what is duty versus non-duty, what is truly fearful versus not, and which choices bind the self versus lead toward liberation.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Bhīṣma Parva’s Gītā dialogue on the battlefield, the teaching classifies types of understanding by the three guṇas; this verse defines the sāttvika kind as clear moral and spiritual discernment amid the pressures of war and duty.