Shloka 11
अव्यक्त–प्रकृति–इन्द्रियविचारः
The Unmanifest, Prakṛtis, and the Sense-Complex
मर्यादायां धर्मसेतुर्निबद्धो नैव सीदति । पुष्टस्रोत इवासक्त: स्फीतो भवति संचय:
maryādāyāṃ dharmasetur nibaddho naiva sīdati | puṣṭasrota ivāsaktaḥ sphīto bhavati saṃcayaḥ ||
Parāśara sprach: „Wenn der brückenartige Damm des Dharma fest innerhalb der alten Grenzen rechter Lebensführung gebunden ist, stürzt er nicht ein. Wie ein wohlgebauter Staudamm über einen Fluss den Strom stärkt und erhält, so bewahrt diese gefestigte Zügelung den Dharma; und aus ihr wächst der angesammelte Schatz der Askese (tapas) — frei von Anhaften und eigennützigem Begehren.“
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma endures when it is anchored in established moral boundaries (maryādā). Such disciplined restraint prevents ethical collapse and allows spiritual merit/austerity (tapas) to accumulate and grow without selfish attachment.
Parāśara is instructing his listener using a vivid analogy: just as a strong dam within a river’s course does not break and helps sustain a robust flow, so a well-established ‘embankment’ of dharma, fixed in traditional norms, remains stable and fosters the growth of accumulated spiritual power.