Shloka 31
Vimokṣa-niścaya: Pañcaśikha’s Analysis of Aggregates, Guṇas, and Tyāga (मोक्षनिर्णयः)
अथवा बुद्धिको वशमें करनेके लिये शास्त्रविहित मन्त्रयुक्त यज्ञादि कर्मको कुछ लोग दोषयुक्त बताते हैं; परंतु वह मन्त्रयुक्त यज्ञादि धर्म भी निष्कामभावसे किये जानेपर वैराग्यका हेतु है। तथा शुद्ध धर्म--शम, दम आदिके निरन्तर पालनमें भी वही निमित्त बनता है ।।
athavā buddhiko vaśaṃ meṃ karane ke liye śāstravihita mantrayukta yajñādi karmako kucha loga doṣayukta batāte haiṃ; paraṃtu vah mantrayukta yajñādi dharma bhī niṣkāmabhāvase kiye jāne para vairāgyakā hetu hai. tathā śuddha dharma—śama, dama ādike nirantara pālanameṃ bhī vahī nimitta banatā hai. rajasātha dharmayuktāni kāryāṇyapi samāprute. arthayuktāni cātyartha kāmān sarvāśva sevate.
Bhishma explica que algunos censuran los ritos prescritos por las escrituras y acompañados de mantras—como los sacrificios—por considerarlos defectuosos, sobre todo cuando se los emplea para someter el intelecto. Sin embargo, cuando esos deberes rituales se cumplen sin deseo de provecho personal, ellos mismos se vuelven causa de desapego (vairāgya) y ayudan a apartarse de la atadura. Del mismo modo, sostienen la práctica constante del dharma puro—la calma interior y el dominio de los sentidos (śama, dama y otros). En cambio, cuando una persona cae bajo el influjo del rajas, incluso sus empresas se enredan con la injusticia y con fines interesados, y se entrega a los placeres con vehemente apego.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Scripturally prescribed, mantra-based ritual actions are not inherently obstacles; when performed without desire for personal reward, they can cultivate detachment and support inner disciplines like śama (mental restraint) and dama (sense-control). Conversely, when dominated by rajas, a person’s actions become mixed with self-interest and drift toward adharma and compulsive enjoyment.
In Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhishthira in the Śānti Parva, he contrasts two orientations to action: (1) ritual and duty performed in a desireless spirit that purifies and steadies the mind, and (2) action driven by rajas, which turns even ordinary undertakings into pleasure- and profit-centered behavior, leading to moral decline.