Shloka 10
Adhyāya 41 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Gurv-anumati and Strategic Counsel (युधिष्ठिरस्य गुर्वनुमतिः)
सम्बन्ध-- सत्त्त आदि तीनों गुण जिस समय अपने-अपने कार्यमें जीवको नियुक्त करते हैं. उस समय वे ऐसा करनेगें किस प्रकार समर्थ होते हैं->- यह बात अगले शलोकमें बतलाते हैं-- रजस्तमश्नाभि भूय सत्त्वं भवति भारत । रज: सत्त्वं तमश्नैव तम: सत्त्वं रजस्तथा,हे अर्जुन! रजोगुण और तमोगुणको दबाकर सत्त्वगुण*, सत्त्नुण और तमोगुणको दबाकर रजोगुण,“--वैसे ही सत्त्गुण और रजोगुणको दबाकर तमोगुण” होता है अर्थात् बढ़ता है;
rajas tamaś cābhibhūya sattvaṁ bhavati bhārata | rajaḥ sattvaṁ tamaś caiva tamaḥ sattvaṁ rajas tathā ||
Arjuna said: O Bhārata, when it overpowers rajas and tamas, sattva becomes predominant. Likewise, when it overpowers sattva and tamas, rajas becomes predominant; and when it overpowers sattva and rajas, tamas becomes predominant. Thus, the inner life of a person is shaped by whichever quality gains ascendancy, influencing judgment, conduct, and moral clarity even amid the pressures of war and duty.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that a person’s prevailing disposition depends on which guṇa—sattva, rajas, or tamas—overpowers the other two. Ethical clarity and right judgment arise when sattva predominates; agitation and desire-driven action when rajas predominates; and confusion or negligence when tamas predominates.
In the Bhīṣma Parva’s didactic context, Arjuna articulates (or frames) a teaching about the guṇas: they contend within the individual, and whichever becomes dominant directs one’s conduct—an important lens for understanding choices and responsibility amid the war’s moral strain.