Shloka 29
Śakra–Namuci-saṃvāda: Śoka-nivāraṇa and Daiva-vicāra
Indra and Namuci on grief, composure, and inevitability
अविवेक, मोह, प्रमाद, स्वप्न और आलस्य--ये किसी तरह भी क्यों न हों, तमोगुणके ही विविध रूप हैं ।।
avivekaḥ mohaḥ pramādaḥ svapnaś ca ālasyaṃ ca—ete yathā-kathaṃcid api tamoguṇasyaiva vividha-rūpāṇi. atra yat prīti-saṃyukte kāye manasi vā bhavet, vartate sāttviko bhāva iti apekṣeta tat tathā; etat sattva-guṇa-vṛddhiṃ jānīyāt.
Ipinaliwanag ni Bhishma na ang kawalan ng wastong pag-unawa (aviveka), pagkalito o pagkalulong sa maling akala (moha), kapabayaan (pramāda), pagtulog, at katamaran—anumang anyo ang paglitaw—ay pawang iba’t ibang pagpapakita lamang ng tamas, ang gunang nagdadala ng dilim at pagkamanhid. Sa kabaligtaran, ang anumang kalagayang sumisibol sa katawan o sa isip kapag kaugnay ng galak at panloob na kasiyahan ay dapat kilalaning sāttvika na disposisyon; ito’y dapat maunawaan bilang pagdami ng sattva, ang guna ng kaliwanagan at linaw.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma classifies certain mental states—non-discrimination, delusion, heedlessness, sleepiness, and laziness—as expressions of tamas (inertia and obscuration). He then gives a practical marker of sattva: a wholesome gladness or inner contentment arising in body or mind indicates a sāttvika disposition and should be taken as growth of clarity and virtue.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction to Yudhishthira, Bhishma continues his ethical-psychological teaching by distinguishing the guṇas through observable states of mind and behavior, helping the listener diagnose tamasic decline and recognize sattvic uplift.