Shloka 11
यथा हिरण्यकर्ता वै रूप्यमग्नौ विशोधयेत् । बहुशो&तिप्रयत्नेन महता55त्मकृतेन ह
yathā hiraṇyakartā vai rūpyam agnau viśodhayet | bahuśo 'tiprayatnena mahatā ātmakṛtena ha |
Bhīṣma bersabda: “Sebagaimana seorang pandai emas, dengan upaya besar yang ia lakukan sendiri, berulang kali memurnikan perak dengan menaruhnya ke dalam api, demikian pula makhluk hidup memurnikan batin hanya setelah ratusan kelahiran. Namun bila ia menempuh upaya agung melalui disiplin seperti yajña serta latihan pengendalian diri—śama dan dama—maka ia menjadi murni dalam satu kelahiran.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Purification is possible but typically gradual across many lives; however, intense, self-applied discipline—especially sacrificial duty and inner/outer restraint (śama and dama)—can accelerate moral and mental purification even within a single lifetime.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and inner cultivation, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira using a craftsman’s analogy: as silver is refined by repeated heating, the mind is refined by sustained effort; rigorous practice can compress what would take many births into one.