Shloka 24
Śuka–Janaka Saṃvāda: Āśrama-krama, Jñāna-vijñāna, and the Marks of Liberation (शुक-जनक संवादः)
दर्पो द्वेषोतिवादश्न एते प्रोक्ता रजोगुणा: । तामसानां तु संघातं प्रवक्ष्याम्युपधार्यताम्
darpo dveṣo ’tivādaś ca ete proktā rajo-guṇāḥ | tāmasānāṃ tu saṃghātaṃ pravakṣyāmy upadhāryatām ||
Yājñavalkya said: “Pride, hatred, and contentious over-argument—these are declared to belong to the quality of rajas. Now I shall set forth the whole collection of tamasic dispositions; listen with careful attention.”
याज़्वल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse classifies certain harmful mental and behavioral tendencies—pride, hatred, and argumentative contentiousness—as expressions of rajas, and prepares the listener for a systematic description of tamasic traits, encouraging attentive self-examination.
In the didactic discourse of Śānti Parva, the sage Yājñavalkya is instructing his audience on the guṇas. Having identified examples of rajas, he transitions to explaining the aggregate of tamasic dispositions.