Shloka 17
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Inquiry and Sañjaya’s Etymologies of Kṛṣṇa’s Names
Puruṣottama-nāma-nirvacana
संजय उवाच नाकृतात्मा कृतात्मानं जातु विद्याज्जनार्दनम् आत्मनस्तु क्रियोपायो नान्यत्रेन्द्रियनिग्रहात्
sañjaya uvāca | nākṛtātmā kṛtātmānaṃ jātu vidyāj janārdanam | ātmanas tu kriyopāyo nānyatrendriyanigrahāt ||
संजय बोले—महाराज! जिसने अपने मन को वश में नहीं किया, वह जनार्दन को कभी नहीं जान सकता। आत्म-प्राप्ति का उपाय इन्द्रिय-निग्रह के सिवा और कोई नहीं है।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Realization of the divine (Janardana/Krishna) is not possible without inner discipline; the decisive method is indriya-nigraha—restraining and governing the senses so the mind becomes fit for true knowledge.
Sanjaya, narrating to Dhritarashtra, inserts a reflective teaching: amid the political and moral tensions of the Udyoga Parva, he emphasizes that spiritual clarity and right understanding depend on self-mastery rather than external actions alone.