Shloka 35

Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)

Devanagari script

तामसानां च जनन्‍्तूनां रमणीयावृतात्मनाम्‌ । सात््विकानां च जन्‍्तूनां कुत्सितं भरतर्षभ

Transliteration

tāmasānāṁ ca jantūnāṁ ramaṇīyāvṛtātmanām | sāttvikānāṁ ca jantūnāṁ kutsitaṁ bharatarṣabha ||

Translation

பீஷ்மர் கூறினார்—பரதகுலச் சிறந்தவனே, இது நிந்தைக்குரியது: இனிய இன்பங்களால் உள்ளம் மறைக்கப்பட்ட தாமஸ இயல்புடைய உயிர்கள் மட்டுமல்ல, சாத்த்விக இயல்புடைய உயிர்களும் கூட கீழ்மையான வழிக்குத் தள்ளப்படுகின்றனர்।

Word by Word

तामसानाम्of tamasic (dark, inert) [beings]

चand

जन्तूनाम्of creatures/beings

रमणीयpleasant, delightful

आवृतात्मनाम्of those whose selves/minds are veiled/covered

सात्विकानाम्of sattvic (pure, lucid) [beings]

चand

जन्तूनाम्of creatures/beings

कुत्सितम्blameworthy, contemptible

भरतर्षभO bull among the Bharatas

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Bharatarṣabha (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma highlights that the mind can be ‘covered’ by attractive pleasures (ramaṇīya), leading to blameworthy conduct (kutsita). Ethical vigilance and self-mastery are needed because even those inclined to sattva can be pulled toward baseness when discernment is obscured.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and inner discipline. Here he contrasts temperaments (tamas and sattva) and warns that alluring objects can veil the inner self, producing censurable outcomes.