Shloka 14
धर्मसूक्ष्मे त्यागप्रधान्यविचारः
Subtle Dharma and the Primacy of Renunciation
बहुत-से आर्य पुरुष इन्द्रियोंको उनके विषयोंसे रोककर अविवेकजनित अज्ञानका त्याग करके उत्तरमार्ग (देवयान)-के द्वारा त्यागी पुरुषोंके लोकोमें चले गये ।। दक्षिणेन तु पंथान॑ यं भास्वन्तं प्रचक्षते । एते क्रियावतां लोका ये श्मशानानि भेजिरे
dakṣiṇena tu panthānaṁ yaṁ bhāsvantaṁ pracakṣate | ete kriyavatāṁ lokā ye śmaśānāni bhejire ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Ramai lelaki Arya menahan indera daripada objeknya, meninggalkan kejahilan yang lahir daripada ketiadaan pertimbangan, lalu melalui jalan utara/atas (Devayāna) pergi ke loka para renunsian. Namun ada juga jalan selatan yang mereka sebut ‘bercahaya’: itulah loka orang yang berpegang pada perbuatan ritual—mereka yang pada akhirnya menuju ke alam tanah pembakaran mayat (śmaśāna).”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts two orientations: renunciants who move beyond ignorance toward higher liberation-oriented realms, and ritualists whose merit leads to limited destinations still marked by mortality—symbolized by the cremation-ground. It cautions that mere ritual action, without inner wisdom, does not culminate in the highest end.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and the highest good, Yudhiṣṭhira raises a doctrinal contrast of ‘paths’ after death. He points to the southern path associated with ritual action and its finite fruits, setting it against the higher, renunciant trajectory discussed in the surrounding context.