Shloka 44
धर्मद्वारबहुत्वविमर्शः — Reflection on the Many ‘Doors’ of Dharma (Śānti-parva 342)
दमात् सिद्धि परीप्सन्तो मां जना:कामयन्ति ह । दिवं चोर्वीं च मध्यं च तस्माद् दामोदरो हाहम्
damāt siddhi-parīpsanto māṁ janāḥ kāmayanti ha | divaṁ corvīṁ ca madhyaṁ ca tasmād dāmodaro hy aham ||
Menschen, die durch dama (Selbstzucht, Beherrschung der Sinne) Vollendung suchen, begehren, Mich zu erreichen; und durch dieselbe Disziplin streben sie nach erhabenen Ständen auf Erden, im Himmel und in den Zwischenwelten. Darum werde ich “Dāmodara” genannt, denn durch dama erhebt sich der Mensch zu höherer Verwirklichung.
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Self-restraint (dama), especially control of the senses, is presented as a direct means to spiritual attainment: it leads seekers toward the highest reality (‘Me’) and also toward higher states of existence across the cosmic realms. Ethical discipline is thus not merely social virtue but a transformative spiritual power.
In a doctrinal exchange within Śānti Parva, the speaker identifies why the epithet “Dāmodara” applies: beings who pursue success and higher worlds do so through dama, and the name is explained by a traditional derivation linking ‘dama’ with ‘udara/udīrṇa’ (rising, being elevated).