Shloka 13
मनुरुवाच — इन्द्रिय-मनः-ज्ञान-क्रमः
Manu on the hierarchy of senses, mind, and knowledge
एतत् सर्वमशेषेण यथोक्तं परिवर्तयेत् । निवृत्तं मार्गमासाद्य व्यक्ताव्यक्तमनाश्रयम्
etad sarvam aśeṣeṇa yathoktaṁ parivartayet | nivṛttaṁ mārgam āsādya vyaktāvyaktam anāśrayam || duṣprajñena nirayā bahavaḥ samudāhṛtāḥ | praśastaṁ jāpakatvaṁ ca doṣāśrayate tad-ātmakaḥ ||
毗湿摩说：“当以无私之心，尽行先前所说诸种修持，然后应将其彻底转化——背离外向之行道，进入离行之道（nivṛtti）。依止此离行之路——被说为与显（vyakta）、未显（avyakta）及无所依（anāśraya）相连——使心坚住不动。然而，若见解有失，便宣说有许多堕入地狱的归宿；甚至那本应可称道的‘持诵者’之位，也会染污，因为行者的身心反被这些过失所塑成。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Spiritual disciplines must be redirected from outward, desire-driven activity (pravṛtti) to inward renunciation (nivṛtti). Even good practices like japa can become harmful if guided by defective understanding; right insight and purity of intention are essential.
In the Shanti Parva dialogue, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on the renunciant path and warns that misguided intellect can corrupt even commendable religious practice, leading to downfall rather than liberation.