Shloka 22
Vimokṣa-niścaya: Pañcaśikha’s Analysis of Aggregates, Guṇas, and Tyāga (मोक्षनिर्णयः)
सत्त्वस्यथ रजसश्वैव तमसश्न निबोध तान् । प्रसादो हर्षजा प्रीतिरसंदेहो धृति: स्मृति: । एतान् सत्त्वगुणान् विद्यादिमान् राजसतामसान्
sattvasya atha rajasaś caiva tamasaś ca nibodha tān | prasādo harṣajā prītir asaṃdeho dhṛtiḥ smṛtiḥ | etān sattvaguṇān vidyād imān rājasatāmasān |
Bhīṣma dit : «Comprends à présent les effets des trois qualités—sattva, rajas et tamas. La sérénité de l’esprit, l’affection née de la joie, l’absence de doute, la constance et la mémoire : voilà ce qu’il faut connaître comme les œuvres de sattva. À l’inverse, des élans tels que le désir et la colère, ainsi que l’étourderie, l’avidité, l’illusion, la peur, la fatigue, l’abattement, le chagrin, le déplaisir, l’orgueil, l’arrogance et la conduite grossière, doivent être reconnus comme les œuvres de rajas et de tamas.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma classifies mental states and behaviors by the three guṇas: sattva produces clarity, joyful affection, certainty, steadiness, and memory; rajas and tamas manifest as desire-driven agitation and darker states like anger, negligence, greed, delusion, fear, fatigue, sorrow, pride, arrogance, and ignoble conduct.
In the Shanti Parva instruction to Yudhishthira, Bhishma continues his ethical teaching by explaining how to recognize the guṇas through their observable effects in the mind and character, guiding the king toward self-governance and righteous rule.