Shloka 51
अध्याय १७८ — प्राणवायुगतिः तथा शारीराग्निव्यवस्था
Adhyāya 178 — The courses of prāṇa-vāyu and the regulation of the bodily fire
यच्च कामसुखं लोके यच्च दिव्यं महत्सुखम् । तृष्णाक्षयसुखस्यैते नाहत: षोडशीं कलाम्
yacca kāmasukhaṁ loke yacca divyaṁ mahatsukham | tṛṣṇākṣayasukhasyaite nāhataḥ ṣoḍaśīṁ kalām ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Welches Vergnügen auch immer in dieser Welt aus Sinnesobjekten entsteht, und welches große, göttliche Glück auch immer von der jenseitigen Welt gerühmt wird—beides kommt nicht einmal einem Sechzehntel des Glücks gleich, das aus dem Erlöschen des Begehrens erwächst.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sense-pleasures (kāma-sukha) and even celestial delights are inferior to the joy of tṛṣṇā-kṣaya—ending craving. The verse elevates inner freedom and contentment over external enjoyment, presenting renunciation of thirst as the highest happiness.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the means to peace after the war. Here he emphasizes a renunciant ethical insight: lasting happiness comes from extinguishing craving, not from accumulating pleasures in this world or the next.