Shloka 10
Sanatsujāta-Āhvāna (Summoning Sanatsujāta) — Vidura’s Invocation and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Doubt
तद् वै महामोहनमिन्द्रियाणां मिथ्यार्थयोगस्य गतिर्हि नित्या । मिथ्यार्थयोगाभिहतान्तरात्मा स्मरन्नुपास्ते विषयान् समन्तात्
tad vai mahāmohanam indriyāṇāṃ mithyārthayogasya gatir hi nityā | mithyārthayogābhihatāntarātmā smarann upāste viṣayān samantāt ||
Wahrlich, der Genuss der Sinnesobjekte ist eine große Verblendung für die Sinne; und für den, der an unwahren Zielen hängt, wird die Bewegung des Geistes zu ihnen zur Gewohnheit. Wenn das innere Selbst durch Anhaftung an solche trügerischen Genüsse niedergeschlagen ist —und seine Unterscheidungskraft geschwächt—, dann erinnert man sich überall an die Objekte des Begehrens und „dient“ ihnen im Geist, kostet sie innerlich, auch ohne äußeres Tun.
सनत्युजात उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sense-enjoyment easily bewilders the senses, and attachment to unreal objects becomes a fixed habit. When attachment damages inner discernment, a person continually dwells on and mentally indulges in sense-objects, even if not outwardly acting on them—so mastery requires guarding both thought and desire.
Sanatsujāta is instructing (in the Udyoga Parva’s counsel setting) on inner discipline: he diagnoses how craving works—first as attraction to sense-objects, then as a habitual mental drift, culminating in constant remembrance and inward ‘service’ of pleasures—thereby warning against the subtle, internal form of indulgence.