Shloka 44
धर्मद्वारबहुत्वविमर्शः — Reflection on the Many ‘Doors’ of Dharma (Śānti-parva 342)
दमात् सिद्धि परीप्सन्तो मां जना:कामयन्ति ह । दिवं चोर्वीं च मध्यं च तस्माद् दामोदरो हाहम्
damāt siddhi-parīpsanto māṁ janāḥ kāmayanti ha | divaṁ corvīṁ ca madhyaṁ ca tasmād dāmodaro hy aham ||
जो लोग दम (इन्द्रियसंयम) द्वारा सिद्धि की इच्छा करते हैं, वे मुझे प्राप्त करना चाहते हैं; और उसी संयम से वे पृथ्वी, स्वर्ग तथा मध्यलोकों में उच्च पद की कामना करते हैं। इसलिए मैं ‘दामोदर’ कहलाता हूँ।
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Self-restraint (dama), especially control of the senses, is presented as a direct means to spiritual attainment: it leads seekers toward the highest reality (‘Me’) and also toward higher states of existence across the cosmic realms. Ethical discipline is thus not merely social virtue but a transformative spiritual power.
In a doctrinal exchange within Śānti Parva, the speaker identifies why the epithet “Dāmodara” applies: beings who pursue success and higher worlds do so through dama, and the name is explained by a traditional derivation linking ‘dama’ with ‘udara/udīrṇa’ (rising, being elevated).