Shloka 231
Adhyāya 69: Strategic duels under Bhīṣma’s command
Virāṭa–Bhīṣma; Arjuna–Aśvatthāmā; Bhīma–Duryodhana; Abhimanyu–Lakṣmaṇa
देवं चराचरात्मानं श्रीवत्साड्कं सुवर्चसम् । पद्मनाभं च जानाति तमाहुस्तामसं बुधा:
devaṁ carācarātmānaṁ śrīvatsāṅkaṁ suvarcasam | padmanābhaṁ ca jānāti tam āhus tāmasaṁ budhāḥ ||
Bhishma said: “One who recognizes the Lord—the very Self of all that moves and does not move—radiant, marked with the Śrīvatsa, and known as Padmanābha, yet still calls Him ‘tāmasa’ (of darkness/ignorance), is described by the wise as being in a state of tamas.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even if one has some recognition of the Supreme Lord’s identity and glory, to mislabel or denigrate Him as ‘tāmasa’ reveals a mind dominated by tamas—ignorance and delusion. True wisdom aligns knowledge with reverent, accurate understanding.
Bhishma is describing a criterion for spiritual discernment: the wise judge a person’s inner disposition (guṇa) by how they speak about and understand the Supreme—here identified through classic Vaiṣṇava epithets and marks (Śrīvatsa, Padmanābha).