Shloka 21
अतो नियम्यते लोक: प्रच्यवन् धर्मवर्त्मसु । यश्च योगी च मुक्तश्चन स एतेभ्यो विशिष्यते,इसीलिये धर्ममार्गसे भ्रष्ट होनेवाले लोगोंका नियन्त्रण किया जाता है। जो योगी और मुक्त है, वह अन्य धर्मात्माओंकी अपेक्षा श्रेष्ठ होता है
ato niyamyate lokaḥ pracyavan dharmavartmasu | yaś ca yogī ca muktaś ca na sa etebhyo viśiṣyate ||
Therefore society restrains those who slip away from the pathways of dharma. As for one who is a yogin and also liberated, he is not to be ranked merely among ordinary righteous men—he stands apart by virtue of inner freedom and realized discipline.
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts external regulation with inner realization: society must restrain those who deviate from dharma, but the truly liberated yogin is distinguished by self-mastery and freedom from bondage, surpassing conventional righteousness rooted mainly in rule-following.
A brahmin speaker offers a moral reflection: when people fall from dharma’s path, social control becomes necessary; yet the highest exemplar is the yogin who is liberated, whose conduct arises from realized insight rather than mere external constraint.