Shloka 9
Adhyāya 240: Indriya–Manas–Buddhi–Ātman — The Inner Hierarchy and Restraint (इन्द्रिय-मनस्-बुद्धि-आत्म-क्रमः)
वर्जयेदुशतीं वाचं हिंसायुक्तां मनोनुदाम् । ब्रह्म तेजोमयं शुक्र यस्य सर्वमिदं रस:
vyāsa uvāca | varjayed uśatīṃ vācaṃ hiṃsāyuktāṃ manonudām | brahma tejo-mayaṃ śukraṃ yasya sarvam idaṃ rasaḥ | sattva-saṃsevanād dhīro nidrām ucchettum arhati |
毗耶娑说：应当避开那种动听却有害的言语——夹带暴戾、搅动并刺伤人心的话。梵（Brahman）本性为纯净光明，是无垢的精髓；此世间万有，不过是其滋味与萃取。由修养萨埵（sattva，清明与善德），坚毅之人便堪能断除昏睡（懈怠与昏沉），在有纪律的觉知中常住清醒。
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Restrain speech: do not use charming words that carry harm and disturb the mind. Recognize Brahman as the pure luminous essence underlying all experience, and cultivate sattva so that clarity and steadiness arise—making one capable of overcoming sleep, sloth, and heedlessness in spiritual discipline.
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Vyāsa delivers instruction on inner discipline. He links ethical restraint (especially non-injurious speech) with contemplative insight into Brahman, and then prescribes sattva-cultivation as a practical means to maintain wakeful steadiness.