प्रवृत्तिं च निवृत्तिं च कार्याकार्ये भयाभये | बन्धं मोक्षं च या वेत्ति बुद्धिः सा पार्थ सात्त्विकी ||
pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca kāryākārye bhayābhaye bandhaṁ mokṣaṁ ca yā vetti buddhiḥ sā pārtha sāttvikī
Translation
That intellect which knows the paths of engagement and withdrawal, what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, what is to be feared and what is not to be feared, what binds and what liberates — that intellect is sattvic.
Interpretation
Sattvic intellect: the discriminative intelligence that correctly discerns all the critical opposites: when to engage and when to withdraw, what is proper and what is improper, what is genuinely dangerous and what is not, what leads to bondage and what leads to liberation. This is practical wisdom — not merely intellectual knowledge but lived discernment that guides right action in real situations. The sattvic intellect is the inner compass that, once developed, never fails: it always knows the difference between what seems good and what is truly good.