Shloka 26
Haṃsa–Sādhya Saṃvāda: Satya, Dama, Kṣamā and the Discipline of Speech
द्यूते पाने तथा स्त्रीषु मृगयायां च यो नर: । न प्रमाद्यति सम्मोहात् सततं मुक्त एव सः
dyūte pāne tathā strīṣu mṛgayāyāṃ ca yo naraḥ | na pramādyati sammohāt satataṃ mukta eva saḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「賭博、酒、女との交わり、狩猟のただ中にあっても、迷妄によって放逸に堕ちぬ者は、つねに自由である。束縛は、誘惑があること自体から生じるのではない。自制と分別を失い、それらを執着と悪習へ変えてしまうところに、堕落の根があるのだ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Freedom is maintained by vigilance and self-mastery: even when surrounded by common temptations—gambling, intoxicants, sexual entanglements, and hunting—one who does not succumb to delusion-born heedlessness avoids bondage and remains 'free'.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and conduct, Bhīṣma advises Yudhiṣṭhira by identifying typical sources of moral downfall and emphasizing that the decisive factor is pramāda (careless loss of discernment), not merely the external presence of such pursuits.