That intellect which knows the paths of action and renunciation, what is to be done and what is not to be done, what is to be feared and what is not — bondage and liberation — that intellect, O Partha, is sattvic.

The sattvic buddhi is characterised by its capacity for correct discrimination across six fundamental polarities: pravṛtti (the path of engagement in the world) and nivṛtti (the path of withdrawal from the world) — knowing when each is appropriate; kārya (what must be done) and akārya (what must not be done); bhaya (what is genuinely to be feared — the things that truly bind the soul) and abhaya (what need not be feared — the things that only appear threatening to the ego); and bandha (bondage) and mokṣa (liberation). The sattvic intellect knows these distinctions clearly and acts accordingly. This is practical wisdom in its fullest form.