Shloka 9
सूक्ष्मभूत-भूतात्मविज्ञानम्
Knowing the subtle principle and the bhūtātman through yoga
जैसे डरे हुए हाथी भागकर किसी जलाशयमें प्रवेश कर जाते हैं, फिर सहसा निकलकर अपने पूर्व स्थानको नहीं लौटते उसी प्रकार जिस पुरुषमें दूसरोंके कहे हुए निन्दात्मक या प्रशंसात्मक वचन समा जाते हैं, परंतु प्रत्युत्तरके रूपमें वे वापस पुनः नहीं लौटते अर्थात् जो किसीकी की हुई निन्दा या स्तुतिका कोई उत्तर नहीं देता, वही संन्यास- आश्रममें निवास कर सकता है ।। नैव पश्येन्न शृणुयादवाच्यं जातु कस्यचित् | ब्राह्मणानां विशेषेण नैव ब्रूयात् कथंचन,संन्यासी किसीकी निन्दा करनेवाले पुरुषकी ओर आँख उठाकर देखे नहीं, कभी किसीका निन्दात्मक वचन सुने नहीं तथा विशेषत:ः ब्राह्मणोंके प्रति किसी प्रकार न कहने योग्य बात न कहे
vyāsa uvāca | yathā bhītā gajā dhāvitvā kasyacid jalāśaye praviśanti, tataḥ sahasā niṣkramya na punar eva svapūrvasthānaṃ pratyāgacchanti; tathā yasmin puruṣe pareṣāṃ nindā-praśaṃsā-vākyāni līyante, na ca prativacanatvena punar nirgatāni bhavanti—yaḥ kṛtāyā nindāyāḥ stutyā vā kiñcid uttaraṃ na dadāti sa eva saṃnyāsāśrame vasituṃ śaknoti || naiva paśyen na śṛṇuyād avācyaṃ jātu kasyacit | brāhmaṇānāṃ viśeṣeṇa naiva brūyāt kathaṃcana ||
Vyāsa said: Just as frightened elephants run into a pond and then suddenly come out, yet do not return to their former place, so too is the man in whom others’ words of blame or praise are absorbed and do not come back out as a reply. Only he who gives no answer at all to either censure or commendation is fit to dwell in the order of renunciation. A renunciant should not even raise his eyes toward a man who speaks in blame; he should never listen to abusive or unfit speech; and, especially with regard to brāhmaṇas, he should not utter anything improper in any manner.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
A true saṃnyāsī practices radical restraint of speech and reaction: he absorbs praise and blame without returning them as a retort, avoids engaging with abusive talk, and maintains scrupulous propriety—especially in speech concerning brāhmaṇas.
In the didactic flow of Śānti Parva, Vyāsa lays down behavioral marks of renunciation, using the simile of elephants that enter and exit a pond without returning to the prior spot—illustrating how a renunciant lets others’ words end in him without producing a counter-response.