Shloka 19
अध्याय २९७ — श्रेयः, धृति, दान-नियमाः
Welfare, Steadfastness, and Norms of Giving
नरेश्वर! जैसे विशाल मेघ आकाशमें सब ओर भ्रमण करता है, उसी प्रकार जीवात्मा प्रारब्ध-कर्मके फलसे कुछ कालतक घूमता रहता है, जन्म नहीं लेता है ।।
nareśvara! yathā viśāla-megha ākāśe sarvataḥ bhramati, tathā jīvātmā prārabdha-karmaphalena kiñcit-kālaṃ bhramati, na janma labhate. sa punar jāyate rājan prāpya iha āyatanaṃ nṛpa. manasaḥ paro hy ātmā, indriyebhyaḥ paraṃ manaḥ.
人の主よ、巨大な雲が天空をあらゆる方角へ漂うように、ジーヴァートマンもまた、すでに始まった業の果（プラーラブダ）に駆られて、しばらくは生を取らずに巡り歩く。やがて王よ、ここにふさわしい依りどころ、住処を得るとき、再び生まれる。アートマンは意（マナス）より勝れ、意は諸根（インドリヤ）より勝れる。
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Rebirth is governed by prārabdha-karma: the jīvātmā wanders until it finds an appropriate āyatana (basis for embodiment) and then is born again. Ethically, mastery proceeds inward: senses are subordinate to mind, and mind is subordinate to the Self—so discipline and self-knowledge are presented as higher than sensory pursuit.
Parāśara is instructing a king in the Śānti Parva’s philosophical discourse. Using the cloud-in-the-sky metaphor, he explains the soul’s interim wandering under karmic momentum and then states a hierarchy of faculties (senses < mind < Self) to orient the listener toward inner governance and liberation-oriented understanding.