Shloka 9
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
सनकादि महर्षियोंकी शुक्राचार्य एवं वृत्रासुरसे भेंट अस्मिन् गच्छन्ति विलयमस्माच्च प्रभवन्त्युत । नैष ज्ञानवता शक््यस्तपसा नैव चेज्यया । सम्प्राप्तुमिन्द्रियाणां तु संयमेनैव शक््यते
sanakādi-maharṣayaḥ śukrācārya-vṛtrāsurābhyāṃ saṃgacchante | asmin gacchanti vilayam asmāc ca prabhavanty uta | naiṣa jñānavatā śakyaḥ tapasā naiva cejyayā | samprāptum indriyāṇāṃ tu saṃyamenaiva śakyate ||
毗湿摩说：“以萨那迦为首的诸大圣仙曾会见舒克罗阿阇梨与弗利特罗阿修罗。一切众生皆归融于此至上本原，又复从其中生起。它并非仅凭经论之学可得，亦非凭苦行可得，甚至非凭祭祀可得；唯有以制御诸根，方能证得。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The highest reality is not secured by mere scholarship, austerity, or ritual sacrifice; it is realized through indriya-saṃyama—disciplined restraint and mastery of the senses, which stabilizes the mind and makes true knowledge effective.
In Bhishma’s discourse on liberation in the Shanti Parva, he cites revered figures—Sanakadi sages, Shukracharya, and Vritrasura—to frame a teaching about the ultimate source into which beings dissolve and from which they arise, emphasizing inner discipline over external means.