Shloka 6
Khaḍgotpattiḥ (Origin and Dharmic Function of the Sword) | खड्गोत्पत्तिः
भीष्म उवाच रागो द्वेषस्तथा मोहो हर्ष: शोको5भिमानिता । काम: क्रोधश्न दर्पक्ष तन्द्री चालस्यमेव च
bhīṣma uvāca | rāgo dveṣas tathā moho harṣaḥ śoko 'bhimānitā | kāmaḥ krodhaś ca darpaś ca tandrī cālasyam eva ca |
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô roi, la passion et l’aversion, l’illusion, l’exaltation et le chagrin, ainsi que l’orgueil de soi; le désir et la colère, la vanité, la torpeur et la paresse : tout cela doit être compris comme des formes d’ignorance, car elles naissent de la méconnaissance de la vérité. Sur le plan moral, ce sont des fautes intérieures qui obscurcissent le discernement et détournent l’homme du dharma.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma lists mental afflictions—attachment, aversion, delusion, emotional extremes, egoism, desire, anger, pride, lethargy, and sloth—as marks of ignorance. The ethical point is that these states distort judgment and lead one away from dharma; recognizing and restraining them is part of self-mastery.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma and inner discipline after the war. Here he is defining what counts as ‘ignorance’ by enumerating the passions and weaknesses that bind and mislead a person.