Shloka 41

Adhyāya 240: Indriya–Manas–Buddhi–Ātman — The Inner Hierarchy and Restraint (इन्द्रिय-मनस्-बुद्धि-आत्म-क्रमः)

Devanagari script

सत्त्वसंसेवनाद धीरो निद्रामुच्छेत्तुमरहति । विद्वानोंने योगके जो काम, क्रोध, लोभ, भय और पाँचवाँ स्वप्र--ये पाँच दोष बताये हैं उनका पूर्णतया उच्छेद करे। इनमेंसे क्रोधको शम (मनोनिग्रह) के द्वारा जीते, कामको संकल्पके त्यागद्वारा पराजित करे तथा धीर पुरुष सत्वगुणका सेवन करनेसे निद्राका उच्छेद कर सकता है

Transliteration

sattvasaṁsevanād dhīro nidrām ucchettum arhati | vidvān yoge ye kāma-krodha-lobha-bhayaṁ ca pañcamaṁ svapnam—ime pañca doṣā uktās teṣāṁ pūrṇatayā ucchedaṁ kuryāt | eteṣu krodhaṁ śamena (manonigrahena) jayet, kāmaṁ saṅkalpa-tyāgena parājayet, tathā dhīraḥ sattvaguṇa-sevanena nidrāyā ucchedaṁ kartum śaknoti ||

Translation

Vyāsa bersabda: Dengan membina sattva, orang yang teguh menjadi layak untuk memutus tidur. Seorang terpelajar hendaknya mencabut sampai ke akar lima cela yang diajarkan dalam yoga—nafsu, amarah, ketamakan, takut, dan sebagai yang kelima, mimpi. Di antaranya, amarah ditaklukkan dengan śama (pengendalian batin); nafsu dilampaui dengan meninggalkan tekad yang memaksa dan niat yang dipenuhi dahaga. Dengan berpegang pada sifat sattva, ia dapat mengakhiri tarikan tidur. Ajaran ini menegaskan bahwa dasar hidup yogis adalah penguasaan diri: bukan paksaan lahiriah, melainkan disiplin batin yang membebaskan dari gelombang pikiran.

Word by Word

• {'sattva-saṁsevana': 'cultivation/association with sattva

• nurturing clarity, balance, and purity', 'dhīra': 'steadfast, self-possessed, courageous in restraint', 'nidrā': 'sleep

• also a tamasic dulling of awareness', 'ucchettum / uccheda': 'to cut off, eradicate, uproot', 'vidvān': 'the learned one

• a discerning practitioner', 'yoga': 'discipline of integration

• method of inner control and liberation', 'kāma': 'desire, craving, sensual/mental longing', 'krodha': 'anger, wrath

• reactive heat of mind', 'lobha': 'greed, grasping, covetousness', 'bhaya': 'fear

• anxiety and insecurity', 'svapna': 'dreaming

• mental projection during sleep', 'doṣa': 'fault, defect, affliction that obstructs practice', 'śama': 'calmness

• pacification and restraint of the mind', 'manonigraha': 'control/restraint of the mind', 'saṅkalpa': 'resolve, intention, mental construction

• often the seed of craving and agitation', 'tyāga': 'abandonment, relinquishment'}

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that yogic progress depends on uprooting five inner defects—desire, anger, greed, fear, and dreaming—using specific remedies: anger is subdued by śama (mental restraint), desire is weakened by abandoning saṅkalpa (craving-driven resolve), and sleep is overcome through sustained cultivation of sattva (clarity and balance).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and inner discipline, Vyāsa speaks as a teacher, outlining practical methods for self-mastery. The focus is not on external events but on ethical-psychological training that supports yoga and peace of mind.