Shloka 21

Śuka–Janaka Saṃvāda: Āśrama-krama, Jñāna-vijñāna, and the Marks of Liberation (शुक-जनक संवादः)

Devanagari script

रजोगुणानां संघातो रूपमैश्चर्यविग्रहौ । अत्यागित्वमकारुण्यं सुखदुःखोपसेवनम्‌,रूप, ऐश्वर्य, विग्रह, त्यागकका अभाव, करुणाका अभाव, दुःख-सुखका उपभोग, परनिन्दामें प्रीति, वाद-विवाद करना, अहंकार, माननीय पुरुषोंका सत्कार न करना, चिन्ता, वैरभाव रखना, संताप करना, दूसरोंका धन हड़प लेना, निर्लज्जता, कुटिलता, भेदबुद्धि, कठोरता, काम, क्रोध, मद, दर्द, द्वेष और बहुत बोलनेका स्वभाव--यह रजोगुणका समूह है। ये सारे भाव रजोगुणके कार्य बताये गये हैं। अब मैं तामस भावोंके समूहका परिचय देता हूँ, ध्यान देकर सुनो

Transliteration

yājñavalkya uvāca | rajoguṇānāṁ saṅghāto rūpam aiśvaryavigrahau | atyāgitvam akāruṇyaṁ sukhaduḥkhopasevanam | paranindāyāṁ prītiḥ vāda-vivādaḥ ahaṅkāraḥ mānīya-puruṣa-satkāra-abhāvaḥ cintā vairabhāvaḥ santāpaḥ paradhana-haraṇam nirlajjatā kuṭilatā bhedabuddhiḥ kaṭhoratā kāmaḥ krodhaḥ madaḥ darpaḥ dveṣaḥ bahu-bhāṣitvaṁ ca—eṣa rajoguṇa-saṅghātaḥ | ete sarve bhāvā rajoguṇasya kāryāṇi proktāni | adhunāhaṁ tāmasānāṁ bhāvānāṁ saṅghātaṁ paricakṣye; dhyānena śṛṇu |

Translation

Yājñavalkya said: “The cluster of qualities born of rajas includes: preoccupation with outward form, lordly power and self-assertion; inability to renounce, lack of compassion, and indulgence in pleasure and pain; delight in disparaging others, contentious debate, egoism, and failure to honor worthy persons; anxiety, enmity, inner burning, seizing another’s wealth; shamelessness, crookedness, divisive thinking, hardness; lust, anger, intoxicated pride, arrogance, hatred, and a habit of excessive speech. This is the aggregate of rajas. All these dispositions are declared to be the effects of the rajas-guṇa. Now I shall describe the aggregate of tamasic dispositions—listen with attention.”

Word by Word

रजः-गुणानाम्of the rajas-guṇas / of the quality of rajas

संघातःa collection, aggregate

रूपम्form, beauty

ऐश्वर्यम्lordship, power, prosperity

विग्रहौtwo: quarrel/hostility; (also) bodily form

अत्यागित्वम्non-renunciation, inability to give up

अकारुण्यम्lack of compassion, cruelty

सुख-दुःख-उपसेवनम्indulgence in pleasure and pain; pursuit/experience of happiness and sorrow

Speaker

याज़्वल्क्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

य

याज्ञवल्क्य (Yājñavalkya)

र

रजोगुण (rajo-guṇa)

त

तमोगुण (tamo-guṇa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Rajas is identified through a recognizable bundle of behaviors—ego-driven striving, harshness, conflict, envy, anxiety, and indulgence—so that one can diagnose the rājasic mind and restrain it, preparing for a clearer (more sattvic) ethical life and for understanding the tamasic traits that follow.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, the sage Yājñavalkya is instructing about the guṇas. Here he completes a catalog of rājasic dispositions and then transitions to the next topic: the description of tamasic dispositions, urging the listener to pay close attention.