Shloka 12
Prahlāda–Indra Saṃvāda: Kartṛtva (Agency) and Svabhāva (Nature) in the Causation of Karma
वाकृप्रबद्धो हि संसारो विरागाद् व्याहरेद् यदि । बुद्धयाप्यनुगृहीतेन मनसा कर्म तामसम्
vākṛprabaddho hi saṃsāro virāgād vyāhared yadi | buddhyāpy anugṛhītena manasā karma tāmasam ||
Bhīṣma dijo: «La atadura mundana está, en verdad, sujeta por la palabra y la conducta; por eso debe hablarse siempre lo noble. Y si se ha alcanzado el desapego, entonces—habiendo sometido la mente con ayuda del intelecto discerniente—deben incluso confesarse los propios actos tamásicos (tāmasika), como los de violencia; pues cuando la falta se expone a la luz, su carga disminuye y se fortalece el camino de la purificación».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Speech and behavior can bind one to saṃsāra; therefore cultivate noble speech. With vairāgya and the guidance of buddhi, restrain the mind and openly acknowledge tamasic wrongs, since disclosure supports purification and lessens the weight of sin.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and inner discipline, Bhishma advises the listener that worldly entanglement is reinforced through speech, and he recommends controlled, truthful, elevating speech along with candid admission of past harmful deeds as part of ethical reform.