Shloka 6

Ātma-saṃyama-dharma: One-pointedness of Mind and Senses (शुक–व्यास संवादः)

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मचर्येण वै लोकान्‌ जयन्ति परमर्षय: । आत्मनश्व ततः श्रेयांस्यन्विच्छन्‌ मनसा55त्मनि

Transliteration

brahmacaryeṇa vai lokān jayanti paramarṣayaḥ | ātmanaś ca tataḥ śreyāṃsy anvicchan manasā ātmani ||

Translation

ब्रह्मचर्येण वै लोकान् जयन्ति परमर्षयः । आत्मनश्च ततः श्रेयांस्यन्विच्छन् मनसा आत्मनि ॥

Word by Word

ब्रह्मचर्येणby celibacy / by brahmacarya

वैindeed

लोकान्worlds

जयन्तिconquer / win

परमर्षयःthe great sages

आत्मनःof the self

चand

ततःthen / thereafter

श्रेयांसिhigher goods / better states

अन्विच्छन्seeking / pursuing

मनसाwith the mind

आत्मनिin the self

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

paramarṣis (supreme sages)

lokas (worlds/realms)

ātman (Self)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Brahmacarya—understood as rigorous restraint and purity of conduct—gives sages mastery over worldly and spiritual attainments; but its higher purpose is inward: turning the mind within to seek the supreme good (śreyas) through self-inquiry centered on the ātman.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the didactic flow of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa is presenting an ascetic-ethical principle: the great sages, through disciplined brahmacarya, gain ‘victory over the worlds’ and then proceed to the deeper quest—seeking ultimate welfare by directing the mind inward toward the Self.