Shloka 16
Adhyāya 240: Indriya–Manas–Buddhi–Ātman — The Inner Hierarchy and Restraint (इन्द्रिय-मनस्-बुद्धि-आत्म-क्रमः)
मनस्तु पूर्वमादद्यात् कुमीनमिव मत्स्यहा । ततः श्रोत्रं ततश्नक्षुर्जिन्वां प्राणं च योगवित्
manas tu pūrvam ādad yāt kumīnam iva matsyahā | tataḥ śrotraṃ tataś cakṣur jihvāṃ prāṇaṃ ca yogavit | sattvasaṃsevanād dhīro nidrām ucchettum arhati |
व्यास उवाच—मनस्तु पूर्वमादद्यात् कुमीनमिव मत्स्यहा। ततः श्रोत्रं ततश्चक्षुर्जिह्वां प्राणं च योगवित्॥ सत्त्वसंसेवनाद् धीरो निद्रामुच्छेत्तुमर्हति; सत्त्वप्रभया जागरूकः स्यात्, योगाभ्यासे स्थिरः॥
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Begin spiritual discipline by mastering the mind first; only then can the senses (hearing, sight, taste) and the vital breath be brought under control. Cultivating sattva—clarity, purity, and steadiness—reduces tamas-like torpor and enables one to overcome sleep as an obstacle to yogic practice.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on liberation-oriented conduct, Vyāsa delivers practical yogic guidance: he outlines an order of inner conquest—mind first, then the sensory faculties, then prāṇa—using the vivid simile of a fisherman catching a fish to describe firm restraint.