Shloka 28
Vimokṣa-niścaya: Pañcaśikha’s Analysis of Aggregates, Guṇas, and Tyāga (मोक्षनिर्णयः)
राजसं तामसं चैव शुद्धात्मकममकल्मषम् । तत् सर्व देहिनां बीज॑ सत्त्वमात्मवत: समम्
rājasaṃ tāmasaṃ caiva śuddhātmakam amakalmaṣam | tat sarvaṃ dehināṃ bījaṃ sattvam ātmavataḥ samam ||
Bhishma dit : «Rajas, tamas, et aussi le sattva pur et sans tache : tous sont des causes-semences des êtres incarnés (le fondement d’où naissent la vie corporelle et ses conditions). Pourtant, pour l’homme maître de lui, le sattva seul devient le moyen de l’égalité d’âme et de l’équilibre.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Though rajas, tamas, and pure sattva all function as causal ‘seeds’ shaping embodied existence, the person who has mastered the mind should cultivate sattva, because it supports samatā—inner balance, clarity, and ethical steadiness.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and inner discipline, Bhishma continues advising Yudhishthira by explaining the role of the three guṇas in embodied life and highlighting sattva as the practical foundation for equanimity in a self-controlled person.