Shloka 23
Jvarotpatti — The Origin and Distribution of Jvara
Fever
इन्द्रियाणां स्वकर्मेभ्य: श्रमादुपरमो यदा । भवतीन्द्रियसंत्यागादथ स्वपिति वै नर:,जब अपने-अपने कर्मोंसे थककर इन्द्रियाँ शान्त हो जाती हैं, तब इन्द्रियोंका त्याग करके जीवात्मा सो जाता है
indriyāṇāṁ svakarmebhyaḥ śramād uparamo yadā | bhavatīndriya-saṁtyāgād atha svapiti vai naraḥ ||
जब अपने-अपने कर्मों से थककर इन्द्रियाँ श्रम से उपरत हो जाती हैं, तब इन्द्रियों का त्याग करके मनुष्य वास्तव में सो जाता है।
असित उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sleep is presented as a natural example of indriya-nigraha (restraint/withdrawal of the senses): when sensory activity ceases due to fatigue and one lets go of engagement with sense-objects, the person enters sleep. Ethically, it highlights that inner quiet arises from reducing sensory outwardness.
In Asita’s instruction within the Śānti Parva’s reflective discourse, he explains a psychological process: the senses tire from their own functions, become calm, and by this withdrawal the person falls asleep—used to illustrate how cessation of sensory activity leads to a settled state.