Shloka 253

Devanagari script

कथंचिदुपपद्यन्ते पुरुषे सात््चिका गुणा: । जब रजोगुणकी प्रवृत्ति होती है तब बुद्धि राजसिक भावका अनुसरण करती है। यदि पुरुषमें किसी प्रकार अधिक हर्ष, प्रीति, आनन्द, सुख और चित्तमें शान्ति उपलब्ध हो तो ये सातच्विक गुण हैं

Transliteration

kathaṃcid upapadyante puruṣe sāttvikā guṇāḥ | yadā rajoguṇakī pravṛttiḥ bhavati tadā buddhiḥ rājasikabhāvasya anusarati | yadi puruṣe kenacid prakāreṇa adhikaḥ harṣaḥ prītiḥ ānandaḥ sukhaṃ ca cittasya śāntiś ca upalabhyate tarhi ete sāttvikā guṇāḥ |

Translation

Bhishma nói: Trong một con người, các phẩm tính sattva phát sinh theo nhiều cách. Khi xung lực rajas khởi động, trí (buddhi) liền thuận theo khuynh hướng rajasic. Nhưng nếu nơi ai đó có sự gia tăng của niềm hân hoan, tình mến, hỷ lạc, an vui và một sự an định thanh thản trong tâm, thì nên hiểu đó là các phẩm tính sattva.

Word by Word

कथंचित्somehow, in some way

उपपद्यन्तेarise, come to be, are found

पुरुषेin a person

सात्त्विकाःsattvic, pertaining to sattva

गुणाःqualities

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

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?

The verse distinguishes mental dispositions by the guṇas: when rajas is active, the intellect tends toward rajasic patterns; when one experiences heightened joy, affection, happiness, and calmness of mind, these are marks of sattva.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction to Yudhishthira, Bhishma continues a didactic discussion on inner qualities and conduct, explaining how sattvic and rajasic tendencies manifest in a person’s mind and experience.