Shloka 26
Vidyā–Avidyā and the Twenty-Fifth Principle
Sāṃkhya–Yoga Clarification
असंतोष दुःखका ही कारण है। लोभसे मन और इन्द्रियाँ चंचल होती हैं, उससे मनुष्यकी बुद्धि उसी प्रकार नष्ट हो जाती है, जैसे बिना अभ्यासके विद्या ।।
naṣṭaprajño yadā tu syāt tadā nyāyaṃ na paśyati | tasmāt sukhakṣaye prāpte pumān ugraṃ tapaś caret ||
帕罗沙罗说道：当一个人的明辨之智毁坏之时，他便不再看见何为正义、何为正当。因此，当福乐衰减、逆境来临之际，应当修行严峻的苦行——以自律安定其心、复归澄明——而非被躁动的欲望所驱使。
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
If discernment collapses, a person cannot recognize justice (nyāya). Hence, when pleasure diminishes and hardship comes, one should respond with disciplined austerity (tapas)—self-restraint that stabilizes the mind and revives right judgment.
In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, the sage Parāśara delivers moral instruction: he diagnoses the danger of ruined intellect and prescribes tapas as a corrective path when life’s सुख (happiness) declines.