Nirmaryāda-saṃgrāma-varṇana — The Unbounded Clash and Bhīṣma’s Rallying Presence
चिन्तामपरिमेयां च प्रलयान्तामुपाश्रिता: । कामोपभोगपरमा एतावदिति निनश्चिता:
cintām aparimeyāṃ ca pralayāntām upāśritāḥ | kāmopabhogaparamā etāvad iti niścitāḥ ||
They are seized by immeasurable anxiety that clings to them until death; taking sensual enjoyment as the highest goal, they conclude, “This much alone is all that matters.”
अजुन उवाच
The verse critiques a worldview dominated by desire: when sensual enjoyment is treated as the supreme end, the mind becomes trapped in endless anxiety that persists until ruin or death, narrowing one’s moral horizon to “only this much.”
In the Bhīṣma Parva context, this line characterizes a certain mentality among people driven by craving and worldly gain, highlighting the inner turmoil and ethical blindness that accompany such attachment amid the pressures of the war setting.