Shloka 12
दमप्रशंसा — Praise of Self-Restraint
Dama
रजस्तमसि पर्यस्तं सत्त्वं च रजसि स्थितम् । ज्ञानाधिष्ठानमव्यक्तं बुद्धयहड्कारलक्षणम्
rajas-tamasi paryastaṃ sattvaṃ ca rajasi sthitam | jñānādhiṣṭhānam avyaktaṃ buddhya-haṅkāra-lakṣaṇam ||
Sinabi ni Bhishma: Kapag ang rajas ay naibinaba sa tamas, at ang sattva ay nananahan sa rajas, ang Di-nahahayag na Sarili (unmanifest Self)—na saligan ng kaalaman—ay nagkakaroon ng tatak ng mga kasangkapan ng buddhi (talino) at ahaṃkāra (pagka-ako). Sa gayong kalagayan, hindi na naghahari ang kaliwanagan; ang pag-unawa ay sinasala ng balisang pagnanasa at ng nakalalabong katamaran, at ang diwang “ako” at “akin” ay nagsisimulang manaig sa paghatol.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse explains how the interplay of the three guṇas affects cognition: when tamas and rajas dominate, even the basis of knowledge (the unmanifest principle) appears conditioned through buddhi (intellect) and ahaṅkāra (ego), so discernment becomes colored by agitation and delusion rather than pure clarity.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on inner discipline and metaphysical analysis, Bhishma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira about the guṇas and the structure of experience, describing how shifts in sattva, rajas, and tamas shape the mind’s functioning and the rise of ego-centered understanding.