Shloka 15
Sanatsujāta–Dhṛtarāṣṭra Saṃvāda: Brahmacarya and the Formless Brahman
Udyoga Parva 44
एतत् समृद्धमप्यूर्थ्य तपो भवति केवलम् | सत्त्वात् प्रच्यवमानानां संकल्पेन समाहितम्
etat samṛddham apy ūrdhvya tapaḥ bhavati kevalam | sattvāt pracyavamānānāṁ saṅkalpena samāhitam ||
सनत्सुजात बोले—यह इन्द्रियनिग्रह-रूप तप, समृद्ध और परिपक्व हो जाने पर भी, यदि सत्त्व से च्युत मनुष्यों में केवल संकल्प के बल से टिकाया गया हो, तो वह मात्र ऊर्ध्वलोक-प्राप्ति का साधन बनता है; मुक्ति का नहीं।
सनत्युजात उवाच
Educational Q&A
Austerity based on sense-restraint can be powerful, but if it is driven by intention for heavenly reward—especially in one who has slipped from sattvic clarity due to lack of dispassion—it produces only higher-world attainment, not liberation.
In Sanatsujāta’s instruction to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, he distinguishes between spiritually liberating discipline and merit-producing discipline: the same outward practice (tapas/indriya-nigraha) yields different results depending on inner quality (sattva) and motive (saṅkalpa).