Shloka 9
Adhyāya 41 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Gurv-anumati and Strategic Counsel (युधिष्ठिरस्य गुर्वनुमतिः)
सम्बन्ध-- इस प्रकार सत्त्व, रज और तम--इन तीनों गुणोंका स्वरूप और उनके द्वारा जीवात्माके बाँधे जानेका प्रकार बतलाकर अब उन तीनों गुणोंका स्वाभाविक व्यापार बतलाते हैं-- सत्त्वं सुखे संजयति रज: कर्मणि भारत । ज्ञानमावृत्य तु तम: प्रमादे संजयत्युत,हे अर्जुन! सत्त्वगुण सुखमें लगाता है: और रजोगुण कर्ममें- तथा तमोगुण तो ज्ञानको ढककर प्रमादमें भी लगाता हैः
sattvaṁ sukhe sañjayati rajaḥ karmaṇi bhārata | jñānam āvṛtya tu tamaḥ pramāde sañjayaty uta ||
Arjuna disse: Ó Bhārata! A qualidade de sattva prende a pessoa à felicidade; rajas prende à ação e ao fazer inquieto; mas tamas, velando o discernimento, prende à negligência, à ilusão e ao desleixo. O ensinamento esclarece como cada qualidade inata puxa naturalmente a mente para o seu modo característico de vida, moldando a conduta e a responsabilidade moral.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse explains the natural pull of the three guṇas: sattva inclines one toward happiness and clarity, rajas toward ceaseless activity, and tamas—by obscuring knowledge—toward negligence and delusion. Ethical effort involves recognizing these tendencies and cultivating discernment rather than being driven unconsciously.
In the Bhīṣma Parva’s Bhagavadgītā dialogue on the battlefield, the speaker is describing how the guṇas operate in human life—how they ‘bind’ the embodied self by directing attention and behavior toward pleasure, action, or heedlessness.