Shloka 5
Ātma-saṃyama-dharma: One-pointedness of Mind and Senses (शुक–व्यास संवादः)
व्यास उवाच यथा वै विहिता वृत्ति: पुरस्ताद् ब्रह्मणा स्वयम् | एषा पूर्वतरै: सद्धिराचीर्णा परमर्षिभि:
vyāsa uvāca | yathā vai vihitā vṛttiḥ purastād brahmaṇā svayam | eṣā pūrvataraiḥ sadbhir ācīrṇā paramarṣibhiḥ ||
Vyāsa said: “My son, just as in former times Brahmā himself laid down this proper mode of conduct, so too did the virtuous of old and the great seers practice and uphold that very discipline.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Right conduct (vṛtti/ācāra) gains authority from two pillars: its original ordination by Brahmā and its continuous practice by earlier virtuous people and great seers. Dharma is presented as an inherited, time-tested standard rather than a personal invention.
Vyāsa is affirming a rule or way of life by appealing to primordial authority (Brahmā’s ordinance) and exemplary precedent (the conduct of ancient sages). He is positioning the teaching within an established lineage of dharma.