Shloka 48

Adhyāya 240: Indriya–Manas–Buddhi–Ātman — The Inner Hierarchy and Restraint (इन्द्रिय-मनस्-बुद्धि-आत्म-क्रमः)

Devanagari script

सत्त्वसंसेवनाद धीरो निद्रामुच्छेत्तुमरहति । विद्वानोंने योगके जो काम

Transliteration

sattva-saṃsevanād dhīro nidrām ucchettum arhati | vidvān yoge ye doṣāḥ kāma-krodha-lobha-bhaya-svapnaḥ pañca proktāḥ, tān sarvathā ucchedayet | teṣāṃ madhye krodhaṃ śamena jayet, kāmaṃ saṅkalpa-tyāgena parājayet; dhīraḥ sattva-guṇasya sevanena nidrāyā ucchedaṃ karoti |

Translation

व्यास उवाच— सत्त्वगुणसंसेवनाद् धीरोऽतिनिद्रालस्यं छित्त्वा योगे प्रवर्तते। योगे पञ्च दोषाः कथिताः— कामः क्रोधो लोभो भयं पञ्चमः स्वप्न इति; तान् समूलान् उच्छिन्यात्। क्रोधः शमेन जितव्यः, कामः संकल्पत्यागेन पराजेयः। एवं सत्त्वाश्रयात् संयमी निद्रां जयति, अन्तर्निग्रहं च वर्धयति।

Word by Word

• {'sattva': 'clarity, purity, balanced goodness (one of the guṇas)', 'saṃsevana': 'constant practice

• repeated resorting to', 'dhīra': 'steadfast, self-possessed, courageous in restraint', 'nidrā': 'sleep

• here, also torpor and dullness obstructing practice', 'ucchettum / uccheda': 'to cut off

• complete removal', 'vidvān': 'the wise

• one who understands', 'yoga': 'discipline of inner integration

• spiritual practice', 'doṣa': 'fault, defect, moral/psychological blemish', 'kāma': 'desire, lust, craving', 'krodha': 'anger, wrath', 'lobha': 'greed, grasping', 'bhaya': 'fear, anxiety', 'svapna': 'dream

• here, indulgent dreaminess/mental wandering', 'śama': 'calming and restraint of the mind

• inner pacification', 'saṅkalpa': 'resolve, intention, mental construction

• craving-driven determination', 'tyāga': 'renunciation

• letting go', 'parājayet': 'should defeat, overcome'}

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Cultivate sattva to overcome sleep and inertia, and uproot the five yogic faults—desire, anger, greed, fear, and dream-indulgence—by specific disciplines: anger through śama (mind-restraint) and desire through saṅkalpa-tyāga (abandoning craving-driven intentions).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction setting, Vyāsa delivers practical guidance on inner discipline, prescribing methods to conquer common psychological obstacles that hinder yogic and ethical life.