Shloka 20
दमप्रशंसा — Praise of Self-Restraint
Dama
इन्द्रियाणां रजस्येव प्रलयप्रभवावुभौ । परीक्ष्य संचरेद् विद्वान् यथावच्छास्त्रचक्षुषा
indriyāṇāṃ rajasy eva pralayaprabhavāv ubhau | parīkṣya saṃcared vidvān yathāvacchāstracakṣuṣā ||
Bhīṣma said: “Just as dust clings to the senses, so too do both dissolution and renewed arising attend embodied life. Therefore, a wise person should examine things carefully and then move through the world with conduct aligned to what is proper, seeing with the ‘eye’ of the śāstras.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should not act impulsively under the ‘dust’ of sense-driven confusion. Recognizing the cycles of decline and renewal in life, the wise examine situations and then act in a manner consistent with dharma, using śāstra as a guiding lens.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on righteous living after the war. Here he emphasizes disciplined conduct: careful examination (parīkṣā) and śāstra-informed judgment as the basis for ethical action amid the instability of worldly conditions.