Shloka 15
क्षमा धृतिरहिंसा च समता सत्यमार्जवम् | इन्द्रियाभिजयो दाक्ष्यं मार्दव॑ हवीरचापलम्,क्षमा, धीरता, अहिंसा, समता, सत्यवादिता, सरलता, इन्द्रिय-विजय, दक्षता, कोमलता, लज्जा, स्थिरता, उदारता, क्रोधहीनता, संतोष, प्रिय वचन बोलनेका स्वभाव, किसी भी प्राणीको कष्ट न देना और दूसरोंके दोष न देखना--इन सद्गुणोंका उदय होना ही दम कहलाता है
kṣamā dhṛtir ahiṃsā ca samatā satyam ārjavam | indriyābhijayo dākṣyaṃ mārdavaṃ hrīr acāpalam ||
Bhīṣma said: “Forbearance, steadfastness, non-violence, even-mindedness, truthfulness, and straightforwardness; mastery over the senses, competence, gentleness, modesty, and freedom from fickleness—when these virtues arise and become established in a person, that is what is called dama (self-restraint).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma defines dama (self-restraint) not as mere suppression but as the stable emergence of a cluster of virtues—patience, firmness, non-violence, equanimity, truth, straightforwardness, sensory mastery, competence, gentleness, modesty, and steadiness—showing that ethical character and inner discipline are inseparable.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma after the war, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira about moral and spiritual discipline. Here he enumerates the qualities that constitute dama, presenting a practical ethical profile of a self-controlled person.