Shloka 11

Abhimanyu’s Assault on Bhīṣma’s Screen; Banner-Felling and Reinforcements (सौभद्र-भीष्म-समरः)

Devanagari script

अफलाकाडुक्षिभियज्ञो 3 विधिदृष्टो य इज्यते । यष्टव्यमेवेति मन: समाधाय स सात््विक:३

Transliteration

aphalākāṅkṣibhir yajño vidhidṛṣṭo ya ijyate | yaṣṭavyam eveti manaḥ samādhāya sa sāttvikaḥ ||

Translation

Arjuna nói: “Tế lễ được cử hành bởi người không cầu quả báo, đúng theo nghi thức đã định, với tâm kiên quyết rằng ‘phải làm’ chỉ vì đó là điều nên làm—tế lễ ấy thuộc về sattva.”

Word by Word

अफलाकाङ्क्षिभिःby those who do not desire fruit (reward)

यज्ञःsacrifice

विधि-दृष्टःenjoined/seen in the injunction (scriptural rule)

यःwhich/that (sacrifice) which

इज्यतेis performed/worshipped (is sacrificed)

यष्टव्यम्to be performed (ought to be sacrificed)

एवindeed/only

इतिthus

मनःmind

समाधायhaving fixed/settled (having resolved)

सःhe/that (person)

सात्त्विकःsattvic (of the quality of sattva)

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

yajña (sacrifice)

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?

A sacrifice becomes sāttvika when it is performed without craving for reward, in accordance with prescribed injunctions, and with a steady inner resolve that it is a duty to be done for its own sake.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Bhīṣma Parva’s ethical instruction on qualities and conduct, Arjuna (as given in the prompt) states a definition of sāttvika sacrifice: rule-guided performance done from duty and purity of intention rather than from personal gain.