Shloka 21
दमप्रशंसा — Praise of Self-Restraint
Dama
इन्द्रियोंकी उत्पत्ति और लय--ये दोनों कार्य रजोगुणमें ही होते हैं। विद्वान् पुरुष शास्त्रदृष्टिसे इन बातोंकी भलीभाँति परीक्षा करके यथोचित आचरण करे ।।
indriyāṇāṁ utpattiḥ layaś ca—ete ubhau kāryau rajoguṇe eva bhavataḥ | vidvān puruṣaḥ śāstradṛṣṭyā etāḥ kathāḥ samyak parīkṣya yathocitam ācaret || jñānendriyāṇi indriyārthān na upasarpanti atṛṣṇulam | hīnaiḥ karaṇaiḥ dehī na dehaṁ punaḥ arhati ||
毗湿摩阐明：诸根之生起与消融，皆根植于“罗阇”(rajas，动摇之性)。故智者当以经典之见详加考察，而后如法而行。若无渴爱，认知诸根便不再趋向境界；当住身之我离于对境之执著——其器官如同失其势用——便不再受取后身。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Craving drives the senses outward and sustains embodied existence; when thirst for objects is extinguished and the senses no longer pursue their targets, the basis for further embodiment (rebirth) is removed. Hence one should examine this through śāstra and practice appropriate restraint and detachment.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction section, Bhishma continues his counsel on inner discipline and liberation-oriented ethics, explaining how the guṇas—especially rajas—relate to the activity of the senses and how freedom from desire leads toward release from repeated embodiment.