Shloka 21
भीष्मविक्रमदर्शनं तथा क्रौञ्चारुणव्यूहविधानम् | Bhīṣma’s Ascendancy and the Organization of the Krauñcāruṇa Formation
पृथक्त्वेन तु यज्ज्ञानं नानाभावान् पृथग्विधान् | वेत्ति सर्वेषु भूतेषु तज्ज्ञानं विद्धि राजसम्,किंतु जो ज्ञान अर्थात् जिस ज्ञानके द्वारा मनुष्य सम्पूर्ण भूतोंमें भिन्न-भिन्न प्रकारके नाना भावोंको अलग-अलग जानता है, उस ज्ञानको तू राजस जानः
pṛthaktvena tu yaj jñānaṃ nānābhāvān pṛthagvidhān | vetti sarveṣu bhūteṣu taj jñānaṃ viddhi rājasam ||
Arjuna said: That knowledge by which a person perceives, in all beings, the many distinct states and varieties as separate from one another—know that knowledge to be of the rājasa (passionate) kind. It fragments reality into competing differences, strengthening attachment, preference, and agitation rather than steady discernment.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Knowledge dominated by rajas is characterized by seeing multiplicity as fundamentally separate—fixating on differences across beings and situations. This divided perception tends to fuel attachment, aversion, and restless judgment, unlike clearer discernment that seeks underlying unity or stable principles.
Within Bhīṣma Parva’s teaching discourse, Arjuna is presented as speaking this line, classifying a type of cognition: the rājasa mode of knowledge. The verse functions as a doctrinal definition, distinguishing psychological-ethical qualities of understanding rather than describing battlefield action.