Shloka 70
कर्मयोग–ज्ञानयज्ञ–अवतारोपदेश
Karma-Yoga, Jñāna-Yajña, and Avatāra Instruction
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं समुद्रमाप: प्रविशन्ति यद्धत् तद्वत् कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे स शान्तिमाप्रोति न कामकामी
āpūryamāṇam acala-pratiṣṭhaṁ samudram āpaḥ praviśanti yadvat | tadvat kāmā yaṁ praviśanti sarve sa śāntim āpnoti na kāma-kāmī ||
As waters from many rivers enter the ocean—ever being filled yet firmly established—without disturbing it, so all objects of desire enter the person of steady wisdom without stirring inner agitation. That one attains peace; the pleasure-hungry do not.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Peace belongs to the person whose inner stability is not shaken by the arrival of sense-objects and desires; cravings may arise and pass, but they do not create agitation or compulsion. The craving-driven person, who actively seeks pleasures, remains unpeaceful.
In the midst of the Kurukṣetra crisis, the teaching on the marks of the steady-minded (sthita-prajña) continues. This verse uses the ocean metaphor to describe the sage’s unperturbed mind: experiences enter, yet do not disturb inner equilibrium.