Shloka 39
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
स वै यदा सन्त्वगुणेन युक्त- स्तमो व्यपोहन् घटते स्वबुद्धा । स लोहितं वर्णमुपैति नीलान् मनुष्यलोके परिवर्तते च
sa vai yadā sattvaguṇena yuktaḥ tamo vyapohan ghaṭate svabuddhyā | sa lohitaṃ varṇamupaiti nīlān manuṣyaloke parivartate ca ||
毗湿摩说道：“当有身之众生具足萨埵（sattva）之德时，便以自身的明辨驱除昏暗（tamas）的冲动，为自身至善而勤行。萨埵增长，则得‘赤色之相’（与恩佑相应的较高境位）；若萨埵仍有不足，便取‘青色之相’，在人的世界中继续往来生死。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Cultivating sattva (clarity and harmony) enables the jīva to remove tamasic tendencies through discernment and purposeful effort; increased sattva elevates one’s state, while deficiency of sattva keeps one bound to recurring human birth.
In Bhishma’s instruction on conduct and inner qualities, he describes how the soul’s condition changes according to the dominance of the guṇas: with sattva it overcomes tamas and rises to a higher state, but with incomplete sattva it remains in a lower condition and continues cycling in the human realm.