Mahabharata 3.201.105 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 105
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
शिरसो मुण्डनाद् वापि न स्थानकुटिकासनात् । न जटाधारणाद्ू वापि न तु स्थण्डिलशय्यया
śiraso muṇḍanād vāpi na sthāna-kuṭikāsanāt | na jaṭā-dhāraṇād vāpi na tu sthaṇḍila-śayyayā ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Bukan dengan mencukur kepala, bukan dengan tinggal menetap di satu tempat dalam pondok kecil, bukan dengan sekadar menyimpan rambut gimbal (jaṭā), dan bukan dengan tidur di tanah kosong seseorang menjadi suci. Kebaikan tertinggi dicapai melalui kekuatan puṇya yang lahir daripada kesucian batin; bahkan puasa pun menjadi sebab penyucian hanya apabila disertai niat tanpa pamrih—bukan apabila ia sekadar pertapaan lahir.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
External marks of renunciation—shaving the head, living in a hut, wearing matted hair, or sleeping on the ground—do not by themselves purify a person. Purification and the highest good depend on inner intention and merit grounded in selfless, sincere conduct.
In Vana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a dharma-teaching that critiques mere outward austerities. He emphasizes that ethical intention and inner purity, not external ascetic practices alone, are what lead to true purification and higher attainment.
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