Bhishma Parva Adhyaya 46 Shloka 23 - Mahabharata | Hindi | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 23

भीष्मविक्रमदर्शनं तथा क्रौञ्चारुणव्यूहविधानम् | Bhīṣma’s Ascendancy and the Organization of the Krauñcāruṇa Formation

Devanagari script

परंतु जो ज्ञान एक कार्यरूप शरीरमें ही सम्पूर्णके सदूृश आसक्त है तथा जो बिना युक्तिवाला, तात्विक अर्थसे रहित और तुच्छ है, वह तामस कहा गया हैः ।।

Transliteration

niyataṁ saṅgarahitam arāgadveṣataḥ kṛtam | aphalaprepsunā karma yat tat sāttvikam ucyate ||

Translation

जो कर्म शास्त्र-विधि से नियत कर्तव्य समझकर किया जाए, जो आसक्ति से रहित हो, कर्तापन के अहंकार से रहित हो, राग-द्वेष से मुक्त हो और फल की इच्छा न रखने वाले पुरुष द्वारा किया जाए—वह सात्त्विक कहा जाता है।

Word by Word

niyatamregulated, prescribed

saṅga-rahitamfree from attachment

arāga-dveṣataḥfrom/owing to absence of passion and hatred; without likes and dislikes

kṛtamdone, performed

aphala-prepsunāby one who does not desire fruit (result)

karmaaction, deed

yatwhich

tatthat

sāttvikamsattvic, of goodness

ucyateis said, is called

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna (as speaker, per supplied metadata)

śāstra (scriptural injunction, as authority)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sāttvika action is duty performed according to śāstra, without attachment, without egoistic doership, and without craving for results—remaining even-minded beyond personal likes and dislikes.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Bhīṣma Parva’s ethical instruction on the guṇas, the speaker defines the hallmark of sāttvika karma, contrasting it with lower-quality action driven by attachment, aversion, or fruit-seeking.