Shloka 9

Devanagari script

यदा प्राज्ञो विरमते तदा सद्यः प्रणश्यति । काम संकल्पसे उत्पन्न होता है। उसका सेवन किया जाय तो बढ़ता है और जब बुद्धिमान्‌ पुरुष उससे विरक्त हो जाता है, तब वह (काम) तत्काल नष्ट हो जाता है ।। ८६ || परासुता क्रोधलोभादभ्यासाच्च प्रवर्तते,क्रोध और लोभसे तथा अभ्याससे परासुता प्रकट होती है। संपूर्ण प्राणियोंके प्रति दयासे और वैराग्यसे वह निवृत्त होती है। परदोष-दर्शनसे इसकी उत्पत्ति होती और बुद्धिमानोंके तत्त्वज्ञानसे वह नष्ट हो जाती है

Transliteration

yadā prājño viramate tadā sadyaḥ praṇaśyati |

Translation

Bhīṣma said: When a wise person withdraws from desire and ceases to indulge it, that desire is destroyed at once. Desire is born from mental imagining and resolves; if it is tasted and fed, it grows, but when the discerning person becomes detached from it, it perishes immediately.

Word by Word

यदाwhen

प्राज्ञःthe wise man

विरमतेdesists, ceases (from it)

तदाthen

सद्यःimmediately

प्रणश्यतिperishes, is destroyed

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Desire thrives on indulgence and mental brooding, but it collapses when a wise person stops feeding it and turns away with detachment; restraint is presented as an immediate remedy.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and inner discipline, Bhīṣma teaches the listener that the mind’s withdrawal from craving is the decisive step by which desire is extinguished.