Shloka 68
Adhyaya 3 — The Dharmapakshis’ Past-Life Curse and Indra’s Test of Truthfulness
इन्द्रियाणि मनश्चैव वशे कृत्वा दुरासदः ।
द्वाराणि च वशे कृत्वा प्राकारं नाशयत्यथ ॥
indriyāṇi manaś caiva vaśe kṛtvā durāsadaḥ | dvārāṇi ca vaśe kṛtvā prākāraṃ nāśayaty atha ||
فإذا أخضع الحواسَّ والذهنَ لسلطانه—وإن كان (العدوّ) عسيرَ المنال—ضبط الأبوابَ، ثمّ بعد ذلك يهدم السورَ الحصين.
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FAQs
The verse uses a siege/fortress metaphor: mastery over the senses and mind is the first strategic conquest; once the ‘gates’ (points of entry—impulses, distractions, vulnerabilities) are controlled, the deeper stronghold of disorder can be dismantled. Ethically, it prioritizes inner restraint (indriya-jaya, mano-jaya) as the foundation for victory over formidable obstacles.
This verse is not primarily sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vamśa/vamśānucarita content. It functions as upadeśa (instruction) within the Purana’s broader narrative framework—adjacent to dharma/yoga teaching rather than a direct pancalakṣaṇa category.
In esoteric reading, the ‘fort’ symbolizes the embodied personality (or entrenched saṃskāras). The ‘gates’ are the sensory channels and reactive habits through which external objects enter consciousness. When these gateways are governed, the ‘rampart’—the hardened boundary of egoic conditioning—can be broken, allowing clarity (sattva) and discernment (viveka) to prevail.