Shloka 31
Adhyāya 240: Indriya–Manas–Buddhi–Ātman — The Inner Hierarchy and Restraint (इन्द्रिय-मनस्-बुद्धि-आत्म-क्रमः)
न प्रहृष्येत लाभेषु नालाभेषु च चिन्तयेत् । सम: सर्वेषु भूतेषु सथर्मा मातरिश्वन:,सत्त्वसंसेवनाद धीरो निद्रामुच्छेत्तुमरहति । विद्वानोंने योगके जो काम, क्रोध, लोभ, भय और पाँचवाँ स्वप्र--ये पाँच दोष बताये हैं उनका पूर्णतया उच्छेद करे। इनमेंसे क्रोधको शम (मनोनिग्रह) के द्वारा जीते, कामको संकल्पके त्यागद्वारा पराजित करे तथा धीर पुरुष सत्वगुणका सेवन करनेसे निद्राका उच्छेद कर सकता है कुछ लाभ होनेपर हर्षसे फूल न उठे और न होनेपर चिन्ता न करे। समस्त प्राणियोंके प्रति समान दृष्टि रखे। वायुके समान सर्वत्र विचरता हुआ भी असंग और अनिकेत रहे
na prahṛṣyet lābheṣu nālābheṣu ca cintayet | samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu stharmā mātariśvanḥ | sattvasaṃsevanād dhīro nidrām ucchettum arhati |
Vyāsa said: One should not exult when gains come, nor brood when gains do not come. Let one remain even-minded toward all beings. Like the wind—moving everywhere yet not clinging—one should live unattached and without a fixed abode. By cultivating sattva (clarity and steadiness), a resolute person becomes fit to cut off sleep and lethargy; and, as the wise teach, one should uproot the inner faults such as desire, anger, greed, fear, and the delusion of dreaming, conquering anger through self-restraint and desire through the abandonment of compulsive resolve.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Maintain equanimity in gain and loss, treat all beings with equal regard, and live unattached—like the wind that moves everywhere without clinging. Ethical steadiness is supported by cultivating sattva, which helps uproot torpor and weaken inner faults such as desire and anger.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and inner discipline, Vyāsa delivers a concise set of ascetic-ethical guidelines: do not be elated or dejected by outcomes, remain impartial toward all beings, and practice a non-clinging way of life, supported by sattvic cultivation.