Shloka 17
Abhimanyu’s Assault on Bhīṣma’s Screen; Banner-Felling and Reinforcements (सौभद्र-भीष्म-समरः)
श्रद्धया परया तप्तं तपस्तत् त्रिविध॑ नरैः । अफलाकाडूक्षिभियक्ति:*5 सात्त्विकं परिचक्षते,इति श्रीमहाभारते भीष्मपर्वणि श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतापर्वणि श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतासूपनिषत्सु ब्रह्म॒विद्यायां योगशास्त्रे श्रीकृष्णार्जुनसंवादे श्रद्धात्रपविभागयोगो नाम सप्तदशो<ध्याय:
śraddhayā parayā taptaṁ tapas tat trividhaṁ naraiḥ | aphalākāṅkṣibhir yuktaiḥ sāttvikaṁ paricakṣate ||
Austerity performed with the highest faith—undertaken in the threefold forms by people who are disciplined and free from craving for results—is declared to be sāttvika. Ethically, it teaches that self-discipline becomes purifying when it is rooted in sincere conviction and not driven by reward-seeking.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Austerity becomes sāttvika when it is practiced with sincere, elevated faith and disciplined steadiness, without any desire for personal gain or visible rewards.
In the dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna on the battlefield setting of the Mahābhārata, the teaching turns to classifying practices by the three guṇas; here, the sāttvika form of tapas is defined as faith-filled and result-free discipline.