Shloka 48

Devanagari script

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

Transliteration

sattva-saṃsevanād dhīro nidrām ucchettum arhati | vidvān yoge ye doṣāḥ kāma-krodha-lobha-bhaya-svapnaḥ pañca proktāḥ, tān sarvathā ucchedayet | teṣāṃ madhye krodhaṃ śamena jayet, kāmaṃ saṅkalpa-tyāgena parājayet; dhīraḥ sattva-guṇasya sevanena nidrāyā ucchedaṃ karoti |

Translation

Vyāsa teaches that a steadfast person, by cultivating the quality of sattva, becomes fit to cut off excessive sleep and lethargy. A wise practitioner should completely uproot the five faults spoken of in yoga—desire, anger, greed, fear, and indulgent dreaming. Among these, anger is conquered through śama, the restraint and quieting of the mind; desire is defeated by abandoning compulsive resolve and craving-intentions. Thus, through sustained reliance on sattva, the disciplined person overcomes sleep and advances in inner control.

Word by Word

• {'sattva': 'clarity, purity, balanced goodness (one of the guṇas)', 'saṃsevana': 'constant practice

• repeated resorting to', 'dhīra': 'steadfast, self-possessed, courageous in restraint', 'nidrā': 'sleep

• here, also torpor and dullness obstructing practice', 'ucchettum / uccheda': 'to cut off

• complete removal', 'vidvān': 'the wise

• one who understands', 'yoga': 'discipline of inner integration

• spiritual practice', 'doṣa': 'fault, defect, moral/psychological blemish', 'kāma': 'desire, lust, craving', 'krodha': 'anger, wrath', 'lobha': 'greed, grasping', 'bhaya': 'fear, anxiety', 'svapna': 'dream

• here, indulgent dreaminess/mental wandering', 'śama': 'calming and restraint of the mind

• inner pacification', 'saṅkalpa': 'resolve, intention, mental construction

• craving-driven determination', 'tyāga': 'renunciation

• letting go', 'parājayet': 'should defeat, overcome'}

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Cultivate sattva to overcome sleep and inertia, and uproot the five yogic faults—desire, anger, greed, fear, and dream-indulgence—by specific disciplines: anger through śama (mind-restraint) and desire through saṅkalpa-tyāga (abandoning craving-driven intentions).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction setting, Vyāsa delivers practical guidance on inner discipline, prescribing methods to conquer common psychological obstacles that hinder yogic and ethical life.