Shloka 9
Adhyāya 240: Indriya–Manas–Buddhi–Ātman — The Inner Hierarchy and Restraint (इन्द्रिय-मनस्-बुद्धि-आत्म-क्रमः)
वर्जयेदुशतीं वाचं हिंसायुक्तां मनोनुदाम् । ब्रह्म तेजोमयं शुक्र यस्य सर्वमिदं रस:,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
vyāsa uvāca | varjayed uśatīṃ vācaṃ hiṃsāyuktāṃ manonudām | brahma tejo-mayaṃ śukraṃ yasya sarvam idaṃ rasaḥ | sattva-saṃsevanād dhīro nidrām ucchettum arhati |
Vyāsa said: One should avoid speech that is alluring yet harmful—words joined with violence that agitate and wound the mind. Brahman is of the nature of pure radiance, the stainless essence, of which all this world is but a taste and extract. By cultivating sattva (clarity and goodness), a steadfast person becomes fit to cut off sleep (sloth and heedlessness) and remain wakeful in disciplined awareness.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Restrain speech: do not use charming words that carry harm and disturb the mind. Recognize Brahman as the pure luminous essence underlying all experience, and cultivate sattva so that clarity and steadiness arise—making one capable of overcoming sleep, sloth, and heedlessness in spiritual discipline.
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Vyāsa delivers instruction on inner discipline. He links ethical restraint (especially non-injurious speech) with contemplative insight into Brahman, and then prescribes sattva-cultivation as a practical means to maintain wakeful steadiness.