Shloka 3
अम्बरीषगाथा—गुणत्रयविभागः तथा लोभनिग्रहः
Ambarīṣa’s Gāthā: The Guṇas and the Restraint of Greed
एतान् निकृत्य धृतिमान् बाणसंघैरतन्द्रित: । जेतुं परानुत्सहते प्रशान्तात्मा जितेन्द्रिय:
etān nikṛtya dhṛtimān bāṇasaṅghair atandritaḥ | jetuṃ parān utsahate praśāntātmā jitendriyaḥ ||
Having cut down these with volleys of arrows—namely the disciplines of self-restraint such as śama and dama—an energetic and steadfast man, free from sloth, calm in spirit and master of his senses, then bestirs himself to conquer others.
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Outer victory is ethically legitimate and sustainable only when grounded in inner victory: one must first destroy inner obstacles through self-restraint and vigilance (śama, dama, and allied virtues), becoming calm and sense-controlled.
A Brahmin speaker uses a martial metaphor: the disciplined person ‘shoots’ volleys of virtue like arrows to cut down the previously described inner faults; only after this inner cleansing does he strive to conquer external opponents.