Shloka 9

Devanagari script

सम्बन्ध-- इस प्रकार सत्त्व, रज और तम--इन तीनों गुणोंका स्वरूप और उनके द्वारा जीवात्माके बाँधे जानेका प्रकार बतलाकर अब उन तीनों गुणोंका स्वाभाविक व्यापार बतलाते हैं-- सत्त्वं सुखे संजयति रज: कर्मणि भारत । ज्ञानमावृत्य तु तम: प्रमादे संजयत्युत,हे अर्जुन! सत्त्वगुण सुखमें लगाता है: और रजोगुण कर्ममें- तथा तमोगुण तो ज्ञानको ढककर प्रमादमें भी लगाता हैः

Transliteration

sattvaṁ sukhe sañjayati rajaḥ karmaṇi bhārata | jñānam āvṛtya tu tamaḥ pramāde sañjayaty uta ||

Translation

阿周那说道：噢，婆罗多啊！萨埵（sattva）使人系缚于安乐；罗阇（rajas）使人系缚于行动与躁动不息的作为；而昏暗之性——怛摩（tamas）遮蔽辨识之智，使人系缚于怠惰、迷妄与失念。此教诲阐明：三德各循其本性牵引心识，导向相应的生活方式，从而塑造行为与道德责任。

Word by Word

सत्त्वम्sattva (the quality of goodness)

सुखेin happiness/pleasure

संजयतिbinds/attaches

रजःrajas (the quality of passion/activity)

कर्मणिin action/work

भारतO Bhārata (descendant of Bharata)

ज्ञानम्knowledge

आवृत्यhaving covered/veiled

तुbut/indeed

तमःtamas (the quality of darkness/inertia)

प्रमादेin heedlessness/negligence

संजयतिbinds/attaches

उतalso/and

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

Bharata (epithet/address)

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 explains the natural pull of the three guṇas: sattva inclines one toward happiness and clarity, rajas toward ceaseless activity, and tamas—by obscuring knowledge—toward negligence and delusion. Ethical effort involves recognizing these tendencies and cultivating discernment rather than being driven unconsciously.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Bhīṣma Parva’s Bhagavadgītā dialogue on the battlefield, the speaker is describing how the guṇas operate in human life—how they ‘bind’ the embodied self by directing attention and behavior toward pleasure, action, or heedlessness.