Shloka 14
धर्मसूक्ष्मे त्यागप्रधान्यविचारः
Subtle Dharma and the Primacy of Renunciation
बहुत-से आर्य पुरुष इन्द्रियोंको उनके विषयोंसे रोककर अविवेकजनित अज्ञानका त्याग करके उत्तरमार्ग (देवयान)-के द्वारा त्यागी पुरुषोंके लोकोमें चले गये ।।
dakṣiṇena tu panthānaṁ yaṁ bhāsvantaṁ pracakṣate | ete kriyavatāṁ lokā ye śmaśānāni bhejire ||
尤提希提罗说道：“许多雅利安之士制御诸根，使其不逐境界，舍弃由不辨而生的无明，循上行之道（天道，Devayāna）而至出离者之界。然而亦有南行之道，被称为‘光明’：那是执著祭仪与作业之人所至之界——终究归于火葬场（śmaśāna）之域。”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts two orientations: renunciants who move beyond ignorance toward higher liberation-oriented realms, and ritualists whose merit leads to limited destinations still marked by mortality—symbolized by the cremation-ground. It cautions that mere ritual action, without inner wisdom, does not culminate in the highest end.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and the highest good, Yudhiṣṭhira raises a doctrinal contrast of ‘paths’ after death. He points to the southern path associated with ritual action and its finite fruits, setting it against the higher, renunciant trajectory discussed in the surrounding context.