Shloka 105
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
अथ द्वादशके तस्मिन् सत्त्वं नामापरो गुण: । महासत्त्वो5ल्पसत्त्वो वा जन्तुर्येनानुमीयते,उस बारहवें गुण बुद्धिमें सत्व्नामक एक (तेरहवाँ) गुण है, जिससे महासत्त्व और अल्पसत्त्व प्राणीका अनुमान किया जाता है
atha dvādaśake tasmin sattvaṃ nāmāparo guṇaḥ | mahāsattvo 'lpasattvo vā jantur yenānumīyate ||
भीष्म उवाच—अथ द्वादशके तस्मिन् सत्त्वं नामापरो गुणः। महासत्त्वोऽल्पसत्त्वो वा जन्तुर्येनानुमीयते॥
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma identifies sattva as an additional determining quality: the degree of sattva in a person allows one to judge whether their nature is elevated (mahāsattva) or limited (alpasattva), emphasizing moral-psychological discernment in ethical life.
In the Shanti Parva’s instructional discourse, Bhishma continues a systematic analysis of qualities (guṇas), adding sattva to a previously mentioned twelvefold set and explaining its role as a criterion for assessing beings.