Shloka 11
Kāma–Mamatā–Upadeśa
Discourse on Desire, Possessiveness, and Ritual Duty
व्रतं यज्ञान् नियमान् ध्यानयोगान् कामेन यो नारभते विदित्वा । यद् यच्चायं कामयते स धर्मों न यो धर्मो नियमस्तस्य मूलम्
vrataṁ yajñān niyamān dhyānayogān kāmena yo nārabhate viditvā | yad yac cāyaṁ kāmayate sa dharmo na yo dharmo niyamas tasya mūlam | yogī puruṣa aneka janmoke abhyāsase yogako hī mokṣakā mārga niścita karake kāmanāoṁkā nāśa kara ḍālatā hai | jo is bātako jānatā hai, vah dāna, vedādhyayana, tapa, vedokta karma, vrata, yajña, niyama aura dhyāna-yogādikā kāmanāpūrvaka anuṣṭhāna nahīṁ karatā tathā jis karmase vah kuch kāmanā rakhatā hai, vah dharma nahīṁ hai | vāstavameṁ kāmanāoṁkā nigraha hī dharma hai aura vahī mokṣakā mūla hai
Vāyu berkata: “Sesiapa yang mengetahui kebenaran, lalu tidak memulakan nazar, korban yajña, disiplin, atau amalan meditasi-yoga dengan dorongan nafsu—dialah yang benar-benar mengerti. Apa jua yang dilakukan seseorang sambil mengidamkan hasil bukanlah dharma yang sejati. Sesungguhnya, mengekang dan memadamkan keinginan itulah dharma, dan penguasaan itulah akar pembebasan. Sang yogin, melalui latihan merentas banyak kelahiran, menetapkan bahawa yoga sahajalah jalan ke mokṣa dan memusnahkan keinginan.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions—whether vows, sacrifices, or meditation—lose their status as true dharma when driven by craving for results. The verse elevates desire-restraint (kāma-nigraha) as the essence of dharma and the foundation of mokṣa, with yoga presented as the decisive path that destroys desire through long practice.
Vāyudeva is speaking as a spiritual instructor, reframing religious practice: external rites and disciplines are not condemned, but their motive is judged. He asserts that the inner conquest of desire is the real criterion of dharma and the root of liberation.