Shloka 6
अध्याय २२० — बलिवासवसंवादः
Bali–Vāsava Dialogue on Kāla and Steadfastness
तेजो दमेन धप्रियते तन्न तीक्ष्णोडधिगच्छति । अमित्रांश्व बहुन् नित्यं पृथगात्मनि पश्यति
tejo damena dhriyate tan na tīkṣṇo ’dhigacchati | amitrāṁś ca bahūn nityaṁ pṛthag ātmani paśyati ||
毗湿摩说道：“光辉与内在之力，唯有凭自制（dama）方能维系；性情尖锐而躁进、缺乏节制之人，实不能真正持守那份光明。被欲望所驱的众生，常将诸多敌人——如贪欲与嗔怒——视作与自我相离的外力，因此内心分裂，易受侵害。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True tejas (inner radiance and strength) is preserved by dama (self-restraint). Without restraint, a person becomes driven by passion and harshness, loses inner stability, and experiences desire, anger, and similar impulses as hostile forces that overpower the self.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma and inner discipline. Here he explains that moral-spiritual power is not mere intensity; it depends on restraint, and lack of restraint leads to continual conflict with one’s own inner ‘enemies’.