Shloka 44
धर्मद्वारबहुत्वविमर्शः — Reflection on the Many ‘Doors’ of Dharma (Śānti-parva 342)
दमात् सिद्धि परीप्सन्तो मां जना:कामयन्ति ह । दिवं चोर्वीं च मध्यं च तस्माद् दामोदरो हाहम्,मनुष्य दम (इन्द्रियसंयम) के द्वारा सिद्धि पानेकी इच्छा करते हुए मुझे पाना चाहते हैं तथा दमके द्वारा ही वे पृथ्वी, स्वर्ग एवं मध्यवर्ती लोकोंमें ऊँची स्थिति पानेकी अभिलाषा करते हैं, इसलिये मैं “दामोदर” कहलाता हूँ (“दम एव दाम: तेन उदीर्यति--उन्न्तिं प्राप्नोति यस्मात् स दामोदर:“--यह दामोदर शब्दकी व्युत्पत्ति है)
damāt siddhi-parīpsanto māṁ janāḥ kāmayanti ha | divaṁ corvīṁ ca madhyaṁ ca tasmād dāmodaro hy aham ||
People who seek attainment through self-restraint desire to reach Me; and by that same discipline they aspire to elevated states in the earth, the heaven, and the intermediate worlds. Therefore I am called “Dāmodara,” for it is through dama (control of the senses) that one rises to higher attainment.
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Self-restraint (dama), especially control of the senses, is presented as a direct means to spiritual attainment: it leads seekers toward the highest reality (‘Me’) and also toward higher states of existence across the cosmic realms. Ethical discipline is thus not merely social virtue but a transformative spiritual power.
In a doctrinal exchange within Śānti Parva, the speaker identifies why the epithet “Dāmodara” applies: beings who pursue success and higher worlds do so through dama, and the name is explained by a traditional derivation linking ‘dama’ with ‘udara/udīrṇa’ (rising, being elevated).