Shloka 6
Mahāvasu’s Fall by Speech-Error and Release through Devotion (अज-विवादः वसोः शापः विमोचनं च)
सतु धैर्येण महता निगृह्नन् हच्छयं मुनि: । न शशाक नियमन्तुं तद् व्यास: प्रविसृतं मन:
sa tu dhairyeṇa mahatā nigṛhṇan hṛcchayaṃ muniḥ | na śaśāka niyamantuṃ tad vyāsaḥ pravisṛtaṃ manaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: Though the sage, with great steadfastness, tried to restrain the surge of desire within his heart, Vyāsa could not in any way bring under control that mind of his which had already run outward—drawn toward the apsarā.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that ethical strength requires vigilant governance of the mind: even great fortitude may fail once the mind has already ‘flowed outward’ toward an alluring object. Restraint is not only physical but primarily mental, and prevention—guarding the first movement of attention—is crucial.
Bhishma describes Vyasa attempting to suppress the inner surge of desire (hṛcchaya) with great determination, yet finding himself unable to rein in his mind because it had already turned toward an apsarā. The moment illustrates the difficulty of controlling desire once attraction has taken hold.