Shloka 48
अध्याय १७८ — प्राणवायुगतिः तथा शारीराग्निव्यवस्था
Adhyāya 178 — The courses of prāṇa-vāyu and the regulation of the bodily fire
यद् यत् त्यजति कामानां तत् सुखस्याभिपूर्यते । कामस्य वशगो नित्यं दुःखमेव प्रपद्यते
yad yat tyajati kāmānāṁ tat sukhasyābhipūryate | kāmasya vaśago nityaṁ duḥkham eva prapadyate ||
Bhīṣma said: “Insofar as a person abandons desires, to that very extent he becomes fulfilled with happiness. But one who is continually under the sway of desire attains nothing but sorrow.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Happiness increases in direct proportion to the abandonment of desires; subservience to desire inevitably results in suffering. The verse promotes self-mastery and dispassion as ethical and spiritual disciplines.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right living, Bhīṣma continues his counsel by stating a general principle about human psychology: relinquishing cravings brings contentment, whereas being ruled by craving leads to continual distress.