Shloka 353
Adhyāya 57: Tapas–Dāna Phala
On the Fruits of Austerity and Giving
मनः:षष्ठानीन्द्रियाणि कृच्छान्मुक्तोडसि तेन वै । “राजन! तुमने पाँच ज्ञानेन्द्रियों, पाँच कर्मेन्द्रियों और छठे मनको अच्छी तरह जीत लिया है। इसीलिये तुम महान् संकटसे मुक्त हुए हो
manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi kṛcchrān mukto ’si tena vai |
Bhishma said: “O King, you have thoroughly mastered the senses—five along with the mind as the sixth. Therefore, you have been released from a great distress.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Mastery over the senses—understood as the five faculties together with the mind as the sixth—is presented as the decisive cause for overcoming severe suffering. Ethical stability and freedom from crisis arise from inner discipline (indriya-nigraha) rather than external power.
In Bhishma’s instruction, he addresses a king and commends him for conquering the sensory faculties and the mind. This praise functions as moral guidance: the king’s escape from a grave predicament is attributed to self-restraint and mental governance.