Adhyāya 240: Indriya–Manas–Buddhi–Ātman — The Inner Hierarchy and Restraint (इन्द्रिय-मनस्-बुद्धि-आत्म-क्रमः)
धृत्या शिक्षोदरं रक्षेत् पाणिपादं च चक्षुषा
dhṛtyā śiśnodaraṁ rakṣet pāṇipādaṁ ca cakṣuṣā | sattvasaṁsevanād dhīro nidrām ucchettum arhati ||
व्यास म्हणाले—धैर्याच्या आधाराने शिश्न व उदर यांचे रक्षण करावे, म्हणजे विषयभोग व अन्नासक्ती आवरावी. नेत्रांच्या सावधपणाने हात-पायांना कुकर्मापासून रोखावे. सत्त्वगुणसेवनाने धीर पुरुष निद्रा (जडत्व) दूर करण्यास योग्य होतो.
व्यास उवाच
Guard the roots of misconduct—sexual impulse and appetite—through fortitude; keep actions (hands and feet) under the supervision of awareness (the eyes); and cultivate sattva to overcome sleep as lethargy and negligence, thereby sustaining dharmic conduct.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on right living and inner discipline, Vyāsa delivers a practical regimen of self-restraint: regulate bodily appetites, monitor outward actions, and refine the mind through sattvic cultivation so that one becomes vigilant and ethically steady.