Shloka 11
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
यथा हिरण्यकर्ता वै रूप्यमग्नौ विशोधयेत् । बहुशो&तिप्रयत्नेन महता55त्मकृतेन ह
yathā hiraṇyakartā vai rūpyam agnau viśodhayet | bahuśo 'tiprayatnena mahatā ātmakṛtena ha |
भीष्म उवाच—यथा हिरण्यकर्ता वै रूप्यमग्नौ विशोधयेत् । बहुशोऽतिप्रयत्नेन महता स्वात्मकृतेन च ॥ एवं जीवोऽपि बहुजन्मशतैर्मनः शुद्धिं प्रपद्यते । यज्ञादिभिः शमदमादिभिश्च महता यत्नेनैकजन्मनि विशुद्ध्यति ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Purification is possible but typically gradual across many lives; however, intense, self-applied discipline—especially sacrificial duty and inner/outer restraint (śama and dama)—can accelerate moral and mental purification even within a single lifetime.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and inner cultivation, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira using a craftsman’s analogy: as silver is refined by repeated heating, the mind is refined by sustained effort; rigorous practice can compress what would take many births into one.