Shloka 31
Vimokṣa-niścaya: Pañcaśikha’s Analysis of Aggregates, Guṇas, and Tyāga (मोक्षनिर्णयः)
अथवा बुद्धिको वशमें करनेके लिये शास्त्रविहित मन्त्रयुक्त यज्ञादि कर्मको कुछ लोग दोषयुक्त बताते हैं; परंतु वह मन्त्रयुक्त यज्ञादि धर्म भी निष्कामभावसे किये जानेपर वैराग्यका हेतु है। तथा शुद्ध धर्म--शम, दम आदिके निरन्तर पालनमें भी वही निमित्त बनता है ।।
athavā buddhiko vaśaṃ meṃ karane ke liye śāstravihita mantrayukta yajñādi karmako kucha loga doṣayukta batāte haiṃ; paraṃtu vah mantrayukta yajñādi dharma bhī niṣkāmabhāvase kiye jāne para vairāgyakā hetu hai. tathā śuddha dharma—śama, dama ādike nirantara pālanameṃ bhī vahī nimitta banatā hai. rajasātha dharmayuktāni kāryāṇyapi samāprute. arthayuktāni cātyartha kāmān sarvāśva sevate.
Ipinaliwanag ni Bhishma na may ilang pumupuna sa mga ritwal na itinakda ng mga kasulatan at sinasabayan ng mga mantra—gaya ng mga handog at sakripisyo (yajña)—na tila may kapintasan, lalo na kapag ginagamit upang mapasailalim ang talino. Ngunit kapag ang mga tungkuling ritwal na ito’y isinasagawa nang walang pagnanasa sa pansariling pakinabang, sila mismo’y nagiging sanhi ng vairāgya (paglayo sa pagkapit) at tumutulong upang tumalikod sa pagkakabit. Gayundin, sinusuportahan nila ang matatag na pagsasagawa ng dalisay na dharma—pagpipigil-sa-sarili at pagpigil sa mga pandama (śama, dama, at iba pa). Sa kabaligtaran, kapag ang tao’y napasailalim sa rajas, maging ang kanyang mga gawain ay nasasangkot sa kawalang-dharma at sa mga layuning makasarili, at siya’y nagpapakalunod sa mga kalayawan nang may matinding pagkapit.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Scripturally prescribed, mantra-based ritual actions are not inherently obstacles; when performed without desire for personal reward, they can cultivate detachment and support inner disciplines like śama (mental restraint) and dama (sense-control). Conversely, when dominated by rajas, a person’s actions become mixed with self-interest and drift toward adharma and compulsive enjoyment.
In Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhishthira in the Śānti Parva, he contrasts two orientations to action: (1) ritual and duty performed in a desireless spirit that purifies and steadies the mind, and (2) action driven by rajas, which turns even ordinary undertakings into pleasure- and profit-centered behavior, leading to moral decline.