Shloka 24
अध्याय १७८ — प्राणवायुगतिः तथा शारीराग्निव्यवस्था
Adhyāya 178 — The courses of prāṇa-vāyu and the regulation of the bodily fire
जानामि काम त्वां चैव यच्च किंचित् प्रियं तव । तवाहं प्रियमन्विच्छन्नात्मन्युपलभे सुखम्
jānāmi kāma tvāṁ caiva yac ca kiñcit priyaṁ tava | tavāhaṁ priyam anvicchann ātmany upalabhe sukham ||
Bhishma said: “O Kāma (Desire), I know you well, and I also know whatever you find pleasing. Though I have long been striving to do what is dear to you, I have not found happiness within myself.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Pleasing desire does not guarantee inner well-being; even sustained pursuit of what craving calls ‘pleasant’ can fail to produce sukha. The verse points toward ethical self-examination and the need to seek happiness within, not through compulsive gratification.
In Bhishma’s instruction in the Śānti Parva, he addresses Kāma as a recognizable inner force. He declares that he understands desire and its preferences, yet confesses that long service to it has not yielded peace or happiness in his own self—setting up a critique of desire as an unreliable guide.