Shloka 31
Vimokṣa-niścaya: Pañcaśikha’s Analysis of Aggregates, Guṇas, and Tyāga (मोक्षनिर्णयः)
अथवा बुद्धिको वशमें करनेके लिये शास्त्रविहित मन्त्रयुक्त यज्ञादि कर्मको कुछ लोग दोषयुक्त बताते हैं; परंतु वह मन्त्रयुक्त यज्ञादि धर्म भी निष्कामभावसे किये जानेपर वैराग्यका हेतु है। तथा शुद्ध धर्म--शम, दम आदिके निरन्तर पालनमें भी वही निमित्त बनता है ।। रजसाथधर्मयुक्तानि कार्याण्यपि समाप्रुते । अर्थयुक्तानि चात्यर्थ कामान् सर्वाश्व सेवते,मनुष्य रजोगुणके अधीन होनेपर उसके द्वारा भाँति-भाँतिके अधर्मयुक्त एवं अर्थयुक्त कर्म करने लगता है, तथा वह सम्पूर्ण भोगोंका अत्यन्त आसक्तिपूर्वक सेवन करता है
athavā buddhiko vaśaṃ meṃ karane ke liye śāstravihita mantrayukta yajñādi karmako kucha loga doṣayukta batāte haiṃ; paraṃtu vah mantrayukta yajñādi dharma bhī niṣkāmabhāvase kiye jāne para vairāgyakā hetu hai. tathā śuddha dharma—śama, dama ādike nirantara pālanameṃ bhī vahī nimitta banatā hai. rajasātha dharmayuktāni kāryāṇyapi samāprute. arthayuktāni cātyartha kāmān sarvāśva sevate.
Bhishma explains that some people criticize the scripturally prescribed, mantra-accompanied rites—such as sacrifices—as flawed, especially when they are used to bring the intellect under control. Yet, when these ritual duties are performed without desire for personal gain, they themselves become a cause of dispassion and help one turn away from attachment. In the same way, they support the steady practice of pure dharma—self-restraint and sense-control (śama, dama, and the like). By contrast, when a person falls under the sway of rajas, even his undertakings become entangled with unrighteousness and self-interested aims, and he indulges in pleasures with intense attachment.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Scripturally prescribed, mantra-based ritual actions are not inherently obstacles; when performed without desire for personal reward, they can cultivate detachment and support inner disciplines like śama (mental restraint) and dama (sense-control). Conversely, when dominated by rajas, a person’s actions become mixed with self-interest and drift toward adharma and compulsive enjoyment.
In Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhishthira in the Śānti Parva, he contrasts two orientations to action: (1) ritual and duty performed in a desireless spirit that purifies and steadies the mind, and (2) action driven by rajas, which turns even ordinary undertakings into pleasure- and profit-centered behavior, leading to moral decline.