Shloka 16
Jāpakānāṃ Gatiḥ — The Destinies of Japa-Practitioners (Śānti Parva 12.190)
अविस्रम्भे न गन्तव्यं विस्रम्भे धारयेन्मन: । मन: प्राणे निगृह्नलीयात् प्राणं ब्रह्मणि धारयेत्
aviśrambhe na gantavyaṃ viśrambhe dhārayen manaḥ | manaḥ prāṇe nigṛhṇīyāt prāṇaṃ brahmaṇi dhārayet |
Bharadvāja berkata: Janganlah melangkah pada jalan yang tiada kepercayaan; di tempat kepercayaan wajar diletakkan, di situlah teguhkan minda. Biarlah minda dikekang dan dihimpunkan ke dalam nafas hayat (prāṇa), dan biarlah prāṇa ditegakkan dalam Brahman. Demikianlah pertimbangan etika dalam pergaulan manusia berakhir pada disiplin batin dan penyatuan rohani.
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Exercise discernment about whom and what to trust in worldly conduct, and then turn inward: steady the mind, restrain it by anchoring it in the breath, and finally establish the breath (life-force) in Brahman—moving from ethical prudence to meditative absorption.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, Bharadvāja delivers a concise counsel that links practical dharma (not acting where trust is absent) with yogic discipline (mind into breath, breath into Brahman), presenting a graded method of inner stabilization.