Shloka 11
अव्यक्त–प्रकृति–इन्द्रियविचारः
The Unmanifest, Prakṛtis, and the Sense-Complex
मर्यादायां धर्मसेतुर्निबद्धो नैव सीदति । पुष्टस्रोत इवासक्त: स्फीतो भवति संचय:
maryādāyāṃ dharmasetur nibaddho naiva sīdati | puṣṭasrota ivāsaktaḥ sphīto bhavati saṃcayaḥ ||
Dijo Parāśara: Cuando el dique de dharma, semejante a un puente, queda firmemente atado dentro de los antiguos límites de la recta conducta, no se derrumba. Como una presa bien construida sobre un río que fortalece y sostiene la corriente, así ese freno establecido preserva el dharma; y de él crece el acervo acumulado de austeridad (tapas), libre de apego y de interés propio.
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma endures when it is anchored in established moral boundaries (maryādā). Such disciplined restraint prevents ethical collapse and allows spiritual merit/austerity (tapas) to accumulate and grow without selfish attachment.
Parāśara is instructing his listener using a vivid analogy: just as a strong dam within a river’s course does not break and helps sustain a robust flow, so a well-established ‘embankment’ of dharma, fixed in traditional norms, remains stable and fosters the growth of accumulated spiritual power.