Shloka 52
अध्याय १७८ — प्राणवायुगतिः तथा शारीराग्निव्यवस्था
Adhyāya 178 — The courses of prāṇa-vāyu and the regulation of the bodily fire
आत्मना सप्तमं काम हत्वा शत्रुमिवोत्तमम् | प्राप्पावध्यं ब्रह्मपुरं राजेव स्थामहं सुखी
ātmanā saptamaṁ kāmaṁ hatvā śatrum ivottamam | prāpya avyayaṁ brahmapuraṁ rājā iva sthāsyāmi sukhi ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Durch meine eigene innere Zucht habe ich den Siebten erschlagen—das Begehren (kāma), jenen höchsten Feind—wie man einen furchtbaren Gegner niederstreckt. Ich werde die unvergängliche Stadt des Brahman erreichen. Dort gegründet, werde ich glücklich verweilen, wie ein König.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Desire (kāma) is portrayed as the most powerful inner enemy; conquering it through one’s own disciplined effort leads to stable happiness and the imperishable state symbolized as brahmapura (abode of Brahman), i.e., liberation.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction in the Śānti Parva, he frames spiritual practice as a battle: by ‘slaying’ desire like a supreme enemy, he declares his resolve to attain brahmapura and abide there content, likened to a king secure in his realm.