Shloka 9
मनुरुवाच — इन्द्रिय-मनः-ज्ञान-क्रमः
Manu on the hierarchy of senses, mind, and knowledge
यथा संश्रूयते राजन् कारणं चात्र वक्ष्यते
yathā saṁśrūyate rājan kāraṇaṁ cātra vakṣyate | durbaddhir akṛtaprajñaś cale manasi tiṣṭhati || calām eva gatiṁ yāti nirayaṁ vā niyacchati ||
Sinabi ni Bhīṣma: “O Hari, ganito ang naririnig—at sasabihin ko rin dito ang dahilan. Ang taong may maling pag-unawa, salat sa tunay na paghimay, ay nananatiling may isip na balisa at pabagu-bago. Ang gayong tao, kahit abala sa japa, ay nakakamit lamang ang isang kapalarang di-matatag at madaling maglaho, o kaya’y itinutulak pababa sa impiyerno.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Spiritual practice (such as japa) bears fruit only when guided by discernment and steadiness of mind; if the intellect is corrupted and the mind remains restless, the result is an unstable destiny or even a fall into suffering states.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīṣma continues a moral-psychological teaching: he explains, with reasons, how flawed understanding and mental fickleness undermine religious practice and lead to adverse outcomes.