Shloka 6

Devanagari script

धृत्या शिक्षोदरं रक्षेत्‌ पाणिपादं च चक्षुषा,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 मनुष्य धैर्यका सहारा लेकर शिश्न और उदरकी रक्षा करे अर्थात्‌ विषयभोग और भोजनकी चिन्ता दूर कर दे। नेत्रोंकी सहायतासे हाथ और पैरोंकी, मनके द्वारा नेत्र और कानोंकी तथा कर्मके द्वारा मन और वाणीकी रक्षा करे अर्थात्‌ इनको शुद्ध बनावे। सावधानीके द्वारा भयका और दिद्दान्‌ पुरुषोंके सेवनसे दम्भका त्याग करे

Transliteration

dhṛtyā śiśnodaraṁ rakṣet pāṇipādaṁ ca cakṣuṣā | sattvasaṁsevanād dhīro nidrām ucchettum arhati ||

Translation

Vyāsa said: By steadfastness one should guard the generative organ and the belly—curbing sensual indulgence and the obsession with food. By watchfulness of the eyes one should restrain the hands and feet from straying into wrongful acts. And by cultivating sattva, a self-possessed person becomes fit to cut off sleep (i.e., overcome torpor and negligence).

Word by Word

धृत्याby firmness/steadfastness

शिश्नम्the genital organ

उदरम्the belly (appetite)

रक्षेत्should protect/guard

पाणिhand

पादम्foot

चand

चक्षुषाwith the eye (by vigilance)

सत्त्वof sattva (purity)

संसेवनात्from/through cultivation (association, practice)

धीरःthe steadfast (man)

निद्राम्sleep

उच्छेत्तुम्to cut off/remove

अर्हतिis able/fit (deserves)

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Guard the roots of misconduct—sexual impulse and appetite—through fortitude; keep actions (hands and feet) under the supervision of awareness (the eyes); and cultivate sattva to overcome sleep as lethargy and negligence, thereby sustaining dharmic conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction on right living and inner discipline, Vyāsa delivers a practical regimen of self-restraint: regulate bodily appetites, monitor outward actions, and refine the mind through sattvic cultivation so that one becomes vigilant and ethically steady.