Shloka 38
अव्यक्त-मानस-सृष्टिवादः
Doctrine of Creation from the Unmanifest ‘Mānasa’
मूर्ख मनुष्य स्वर्गमें देवताओंकी भाँति सदा विषयसुखमें मग्न रहते हैं; क्योंकि उनका चित्त विषया-सक्तिके कीचड़में लथपथ होकर मोहित हो जाता है ।।
mūrkhaḥ manuṣyaḥ svargam iva devatāvat sadā viṣaya-sukheṣu magnaḥ tiṣṭhati; tasya cittaṃ viṣayāsakti-paṅke liptam mohitam bhavati. sukhaṃ duḥkhāntam ālasyaṃ, duḥkhaṃ dākṣyaṃ sukha-udayam. bhūtis tv evaṃ śriyā sārdhaṃ dakṣe vasati nālase.
The Brahmin says: A foolish person remains continually immersed in sense-pleasures, as if living in heaven like the gods, because his mind—smeared with the mire of attachment to objects—becomes deluded. Idleness feels pleasant at the beginning, but it ends in suffering; skillful, diligent effort feels painful at first, yet it gives rise to happiness. Thus prosperity, together with Lakshmi (fortune), dwells in the capable and industrious person, not in the lazy one.
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Pleasure that comes from idleness and sense-indulgence is deceptive: it begins as comfort but ends in suffering. Diligent, skillful effort may feel difficult at first, yet it produces lasting happiness and attracts prosperity (Śrī/Lakṣmī).
In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, a Brahmin speaker delivers moral instruction, contrasting the deluded life of attachment and laziness with the fruitful path of competence and sustained effort.