Shloka 46
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
अष्टौ च षष्टिं च शतानि चैव मनोनिरुद्धानि महाद्युतीनाम् । शुक्लस्य वर्णस्य परा गतिर्या त्रीण्येव रुद्धानि महानुभाव
aṣṭau ca ṣaṣṭiṃ ca śatāni caiva manoniruddhāni mahādyutīnām | śuklasya varṇasya parā gatir yā trīṇy eva ruddhāni mahānubhāva ||
Bhishma berkata— para yogin yang bercahaya agung mengekang dengan batin delapan prinsip, enam puluh prinsip, bahkan ratusan perubahan-mental yang timbul darinya; dan mereka pun menahan tiga guṇa—sattva, rajas, dan tamas. Karena itu, tujuan tertinggi yang dicapai golongan ‘putih’ (murni, bercahaya) para siddha, itulah pula keadaan puncak yang diraih para yogin yang menaklukkan pengekangan demikian.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation is presented as the result of profound inner restraint: the yogin stills the proliferating categories of experience (tattvas and their many operations) and even transcends the three guṇas. When the guṇas are checked, one reaches the highest ‘pure’ state—an ethical ideal of mastery over desire, agitation, and inertia.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, Bhishma explains to his listener that accomplished yogins control the mind so completely that the entire field of principles and mental modifications becomes subdued; by restraining even sattva, rajas, and tamas, they attain the same supreme destination attributed to the ‘white/pure’ perfected order.