Shloka 24
Ajñātavāsa-saṅkalpaḥ — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Resolve and Dhaumya’s Exempla on Concealment
नानात्मवन्तस्तु वने चरन्ति धर्म च वासं च परिश्रमं च । विज्ञानतो धर्ममुदाहरन्ति तस्मात् सन््तो धर्ममाहु: प्रधानम्,जिन्होंने अपने मन और इन्द्रियोंको वशमें नहीं किया है, वे वनमें रहकर धर्मपालन, गुरुकुलवास तथा कष्टसहनरूप तपस्या नहीं कर सकते हैं। जितेन्द्रिय पुरुष ही यह सब कुछ करनेमें समर्थ हैं। महात्मालोग विवेक-विचारसे ही धर्म-प्राप्ति बताते हैं, अतः सभी सत्पुरुष धर्मको ही श्रेष्ठ मानते हैं
nānātmavantastu vane caranti dharmaṃ ca vāsaṃ ca pariśramaṃ ca | vijñānato dharmamudāharanti tasmāt santo dharmamāhuḥ pradhānam ||
Yama said: “Those whose inner self is scattered—who have not mastered mind and senses—cannot truly sustain life in the forest: neither righteous conduct, nor disciplined residence (as in a teacher’s house), nor the austerity of enduring hardship. It is the self-controlled who are capable of these. The wise, through discerning understanding, declare what dharma is; therefore the good and noble regard dharma as the highest principle.”
यम उवाच