Shloka 5
मनुरुवाच — इन्द्रिय-मनः-ज्ञान-क्रमः
Manu on the hierarchy of senses, mind, and knowledge
कि यज्ञविधिरेवैष किमेतज्जप्यमुच्यते । एतनमे सर्वमाचक्ष्व सर्वज्ञो हसि मे मतः
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | kiṁ yajñavidhir evaiṣa kim etaj japyam ucyate | etan me sarvam ācakṣva sarvajño 'si me mataḥ | ahaṅkārakṛtaś caiva sarve nirayagāminaḥ | parāvamānī puruṣo bhavitā nirayopagaḥ |
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „Ist dies selbst ein Verfahren des Opfers (yajña)? Und was ist es, das ‘als zu rezitieren’ (japya) bezeichnet wird? Sage mir dies alles vollständig, denn in meinen Augen bist du allwissend. Denn wer mit Ichsucht rezitiert—sich selbst rühmend—ist insgesamt der Hölle verfallen; und auch der Mann, der andere herabsetzt, wird in die Hölle stürzen.“
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Spiritual practice (japa) is not merely a ritual technique; its moral quality matters. If recitation is driven by ego or used to belittle others, it becomes spiritually harmful and is said to lead to a hellish destiny.
Yudhiṣṭhira questions a revered teacher about the nature of japa—whether it counts as a form of sacrificial procedure and what exactly is to be recited—while also raising an ethical warning that prideful or contemptuous practitioners incur grave demerit.