Shloka 19
भीष्मविक्रमदर्शनं तथा क्रौञ्चारुणव्यूहविधानम् | Bhīṣma’s Ascendancy and the Organization of the Krauñcāruṇa Formation
ज्ञानं कर्म च कर्ता च त्रिधैव गुणभेदत: । प्रोच्यते गुणसंख्याने यथावच्छृूणु तान्यपि,गुणोंकी संख्या करनेवाले शास्त्रमें ज्ञान और कर्म तथा कर्ता गुणोंके भेदसे तीन-तीन प्रकारके ही कहे गये हैं, उनको भी तू मुझसे भलीभाँति सुन"
arjuna uvāca | jñānaṁ karma ca kartā ca tridhaiva guṇabhedataḥ | procyate guṇasaṅkhyāne yathāvac chṛṇu tāny api ||
Arjuna said: “In the teaching that analyzes the guṇas, knowledge, action, and the doer are each described as threefold, distinguished by the guṇas. Please explain those as well—hear me as I ask you to set them forth correctly and in due order.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse introduces a guṇa-based ethical psychology: knowledge (jñāna), action (karma), and the agent (kartā) are each to be understood in three types according to sattva, rajas, and tamas. This frames moral evaluation not only by outward deeds but by the quality of understanding, motivation, and inner disposition behind action.
Arjuna, in dialogue on the battlefield context of Bhīṣma Parva, asks for further clarification: he requests that the teaching which ‘counts’ or analyzes the guṇas be applied specifically to knowledge, action, and the doer, and that these be explained accurately and systematically.