Shloka 15

Bhīmasena’s Counsel on Grief, Inner Conflict, and the Duty of Kingship (भीमसेन-उपदेशः)

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत शान्तिपर्वके अन्तर्गत राजधमनुशासनपर्वमें अजुनवाक्यविषयक पंद्रहवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ,वश्ित्‌ सुखे वर्तमानो दुःखस्य स्मर्तुमिच्छति । वश्चिद्‌ दुःखे वर्तमान: सुखस्य स्मर्तुमिच्छति “कोई सुखमें रहकर दुःखकी बातें याद करना चाहता है और कोई दुःखमें रहकर सुखका स्मरण करना चाहता है

Transliteration

vaścid sukhe vartamāno duḥkhasya smartum icchati | vaścid duḥkhe vartamānaḥ sukhasya smartum icchati |

Translation

Some, while living in comfort, wish to recall suffering; others, while living in suffering, wish to remember happiness. The line points to the mind’s tendency to seek balance through memory—either by cultivating humility amid prosperity or by sustaining hope amid distress.

Word by Word

• {'vaścit (kaścit)': 'someone, a certain person', 'sukhe': 'in happiness, in comfort (locative)', 'duḥkhe': 'in sorrow, in distress (locative)', 'vartamānaḥ / vartamāno': 'being, remaining, existing (present participle)', 'duḥkhasya': 'of sorrow (genitive)', 'sukhasya': 'of happiness (genitive)', 'smartum': 'to remember, to recall (infinitive)', 'icchati': 'wishes, desires'}

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna (speaker attribution)