Shloka 26
Haṃsa–Sādhya Saṃvāda: Satya, Dama, Kṣamā and the Discipline of Speech
द्यूते पाने तथा स्त्रीषु मृगयायां च यो नर: । न प्रमाद्यति सम्मोहात् सततं मुक्त एव सः,“जो मोहवश जूआ, मद्यपान, परस्त्रीसंसर्ग तथा मृगया आदि व्यसनोंमें आसक्त होनेका प्रमाद नहीं करता है, वह भी सदा मुक्त ही है”
dyūte pāne tathā strīṣu mṛgayāyāṃ ca yo naraḥ | na pramādyati sammohāt satataṃ mukta eva saḥ ||
Bhishma said: A man who, even amid gambling, drinking, dealings with women, and the pursuit of the hunt, does not fall into heedlessness through delusion—such a person remains ever free. The teaching stresses that bondage arises not merely from the presence of tempting pursuits, but from the loss of self-mastery and discernment that turns them into addictions and moral downfall.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Freedom is maintained by vigilance and self-mastery: even when surrounded by common temptations—gambling, intoxicants, sexual entanglements, and hunting—one who does not succumb to delusion-born heedlessness avoids bondage and remains 'free'.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and conduct, Bhīṣma advises Yudhiṣṭhira by identifying typical sources of moral downfall and emphasizing that the decisive factor is pramāda (careless loss of discernment), not merely the external presence of such pursuits.