Shloka 25
Ātma-saṃyama-dharma: One-pointedness of Mind and Senses (शुक–व्यास संवादः)
यांस्तु गन्धान् रसान् वापि ब्रह्मचारी न सेवते
yāṁs tu gandhān rasān vāpi brahmacārī na sevate
Vyāsa said: “Those fragrances and tastes which a brahmacārin (a student vowed to celibacy and discipline) does not indulge in—”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse points to brahmacarya as practical self-restraint: a disciplined student deliberately avoids indulgence in sensory pleasures—here highlighted through smell (gandha) and taste (rasa)—as part of ethical training and inner purification.
In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa is describing norms of conduct for a brahmacārin. This line introduces a discussion of what kinds of sensory enjoyments a vowed student refrains from, as part of dharma-oriented discipline.