Shloka 25
Vimokṣa-niścaya: Pañcaśikha’s Analysis of Aggregates, Guṇas, and Tyāga (मोक्षनिर्णयः)
युधिछिर उवाच के दोषा मनसा त्यक्ता: के बुद्धया शिथिलीकृता: । के पुन: पुनरायान्ति के मोहादफला इव
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | ke doṣā manasā tyaktāḥ ke buddhyā śithilīkṛtāḥ | ke punaḥ punarāyānti ke mohād aphalā iva ||
Yudhisthira berkata: “Wahai Pitamaha! Cacat-cacat apa yang dahulu ditinggalkan para pencari moksha dengan menaklukkan batin, dan cacat-cacat apa yang dilemahkan mereka dengan kebijaksanaan? Cacat mana yang datang kembali berulang-ulang, dan mana yang—karena delusi—tampak seakan tak mampu menghasilkan buah?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ethical discipline as a twofold practice: some vices are abandoned through mastery of the mind (manas), while others are weakened through discriminative understanding (buddhi). It also highlights that certain faults recur habitually, and that delusion (moha) can render one’s efforts ‘fruitless’ by obscuring right judgment and consistent practice.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and inner life, Yudhiṣṭhira questions the elder teacher about the practical psychology of moral reform: which defects earlier aspirants renounced, which they merely attenuated, which keep returning, and which become ineffective due to delusion.