Shloka 18
Śānti Parva, Adhyāya 52 — Bhīṣma’s Humility Before Kṛṣṇa and the Granting of Boons
सत्त्वस्थं च मनो नित्यं तव भीष्म भविष्यति । रजस्तमोभ्यां रहित॑ घनैर्मुक्त इवोडुराट्,भीष्म! आपका मन मेघके आवरणसे मुक्त हुए चन्द्रमाकी भाँति रजोगुण और तमोगुणसे रहित होकर सदा सत्त्वगुणमें स्थित रहेगा
sattvasthaṃ ca mano nityaṃ tava bhīṣma bhaviṣyati | rajastamobhyāṃ rahitaṃ ghanair mukta ivodurāṭ ||
Vāyu-deva dit : «Ô Bhīṣma, ton esprit demeurera à jamais établi dans le sattva, affranchi du rajas et du tamas, tel la lune délivrée du voile des nuages épais.»
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the highest readiness for dharmic understanding is a mind established in sattva—clear, steady, and luminous—unmixed with rajas (restless passion) and tamas (delusion). Such purity of mind enables truthful counsel and right judgment.
Vāyu-deva addresses Bhīṣma and foretells/praises his inner state: Bhīṣma’s mind will remain consistently sattvic, compared to the moon shining once freed from dense clouds. This supports Bhīṣma’s authority as a teacher in the Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and dharma.