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.
毗湿摩阐明：有人指责经论所规定、并以真言相随的祭仪——如祭祀（yajña）等——有其过失，尤其当人们借此来调伏智慧之时。然而，若这些带真言的祭仪之法以无所求之心而行，它们本身便成为生起离欲（vairāgya）的因，助人转离执著。同样，它们也扶持清净法的恒常修持——如止（śama）、制（dama）等自制与摄根之行。反之，若人落入罗阇斯（rajas）的支配，则连其所作所为也会纠缠于非义与私利之图，并以强烈贪著沉溺于诸欲乐。
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.