Shloka 45
अव्यक्त-मानस-सृष्टिवादः
Doctrine of Creation from the Unmanifest ‘Mānasa’
यद् यत् यजति कामानां तत् सुखस्याभिपूर्यते । कामानुसारी पुरुष: कामाननुविनश्यति
yad yat tyajati kāmānāṁ tat sukhasyābhipūryate | kāmānusārī puruṣaḥ kāmān anuvinaśyati ||
Whatever desire a person relinquishes, that very renunciation becomes what truly completes his happiness. But the man who runs after desires is ruined in the wake of those desires themselves.
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Happiness is completed by letting go of desires; chasing desires makes one dependent on them and leads to ruin. The verse praises tyāga (relinquishment) and warns against kāmānusaraṇa (following craving).
A Brahmin speaker delivers an ethical instruction within the Śānti Parva’s reflective discourse, contrasting the inner freedom gained by abandoning desires with the self-destruction that comes from pursuing them.