Shloka 26
ब्राह्मणानुयात्रा—शौनकोपदेशः
Brāhmaṇas Follow into Exile and Śaunaka’s Instruction
मानसं शमयेत् तस्माज्ज्ञानेनाग्निमिवाम्बुना | प्रशान्ते मानसे हास्य शारीरमुपशाम्यति,“इसलिये जलसे अग्निको शान्त करनेकी भाँति ज्ञानके द्वारा मानसिक दुःखको शान्त करना चाहिये। मनका दुःख मिट जानेपर मनुष्यके शरीरका दुःख भी दूर हो जाता है
mānasaṃ śamayet tasmāj jñānenāgnim ivāmbunā | praśānte mānase hāsya śārīram upaśāmyati ||
Therefore one should pacify the mind through true knowledge, just as fire is quenched by water. When the mind becomes calm and its distress is stilled, the suffering that is felt in the body also subsides.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Mental distress should be pacified through jñāna (clear insight and right understanding). Once the mind is calmed, bodily suffering is also experienced as diminished—highlighting the Mahābhārata’s emphasis on inner discipline as a foundation for endurance and right conduct.
Vaiśampāyana, in the course of instructive narration, states a general ethical-psychological principle: the mind is to be soothed by knowledge, illustrated by the image of extinguishing fire with water, and he links mental peace to relief from bodily affliction.