Shloka 35
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
तामसानां च जनन््तूनां रमणीयावृतात्मनाम् । सात््विकानां च जन््तूनां कुत्सितं भरतर्षभ
tāmasānāṁ ca jantūnāṁ ramaṇīyāvṛtātmanām | sāttvikānāṁ ca jantūnāṁ kutsitaṁ bharatarṣabha ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô taureau parmi les Bhārata, voici ce qui est blâmable : que les êtres de nature tamasique, l’âme intérieure voilée par des plaisirs séduisants, et même les êtres de nature sattvique, puissent être entraînés vers ce qui est bas. Il faut donc veiller sur les voiles de l’esprit et sur l’attrait de la jouissance, car ils peuvent corrompre le discernement, quels que soient les tempéraments.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma highlights that the mind can be ‘covered’ by attractive pleasures (ramaṇīya), leading to blameworthy conduct (kutsita). Ethical vigilance and self-mastery are needed because even those inclined to sattva can be pulled toward baseness when discernment is obscured.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and inner discipline. Here he contrasts temperaments (tamas and sattva) and warns that alluring objects can veil the inner self, producing censurable outcomes.