Shloka 9
मनुरुवाच — इन्द्रिय-मनः-ज्ञान-क्रमः
Manu on the hierarchy of senses, mind, and knowledge
यथा संश्रूयते राजन् कारणं चात्र वक्ष्यते
yathā saṁśrūyate rājan kāraṇaṁ cātra vakṣyate | durbaddhir akṛtaprajñaś cale manasi tiṣṭhati || calām eva gatiṁ yāti nirayaṁ vā niyacchati ||
ビーシュマは言った。「王よ、かく聞き伝えられている——そしてその理由もここで述べよう。誤った理解にとらわれ、真の分別を欠く者は、落ち着かず揺れ動く心のままに留まる。そのような者は、たとえジャパに従事していても、不安定で滅びやすい運命の道筋を得るだけであり、あるいは地獄へと追いやられる。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Spiritual practice (such as japa) bears fruit only when guided by discernment and steadiness of mind; if the intellect is corrupted and the mind remains restless, the result is an unstable destiny or even a fall into suffering states.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīṣma continues a moral-psychological teaching: he explains, with reasons, how flawed understanding and mental fickleness undermine religious practice and lead to adverse outcomes.