Shloka 16
दमप्रशंसा — Praise of Self-Restraint
Dama
शब्दरागाच्छोत्रमस्य जायते भावितात्मन: । रूपरागात् तथा चक्षुप्राणं गन्धचिकीर्षया,शब्दके प्रति राग होनेसे उस भावितात्मा पुरुषकी श्रवणेन्द्रिय प्रकट होती है। रूपके प्रति राग होनेसे नेत्र और गन्ध ग्रहण करनेकी इच्छा होनेसे नासिकाका प्राकट्य होता है
śabdarāgāc chotram asya jāyate bhāvitātmanaḥ | rūparāgāt tathā cakṣuḥ prāṇaṃ gandha-cikīrṣayā ||
Bhishma disse: Numa pessoa cujo ser interior foi moldado por impressões anteriores, o apego ao som faz surgir a faculdade da audição. O apego à forma faz surgir do mesmo modo a faculdade da visão; e o impulso de apreender a fragrância faz surgir o órgão do olfato. Assim, os sentidos se manifestam de acordo com as inclinações e desejos da mente.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the senses are not merely physical givens; they manifest and operate in line with the mind’s attachments—craving for sound, form, and fragrance conditions the arising and strengthening of hearing, sight, and smell. Ethically, it points to desire (rāga) as a root that shapes perception and bondage.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction, Bhishma is explaining to the listener a causal account of how sensory faculties arise in embodied beings, linking each sense to a corresponding attachment or desire, as part of a broader teaching on mind, conduct, and liberation-oriented understanding.