Shloka 5
Adhyāya 180: Jīva, Śarīra, and the Fire Analogy (भृगु–भरद्वाज संवादः)
नैव प्रार्थयसे लाभं नालाभेष्वनुशोचसि । नित्यतृप्त इव ब्रह्मनून किज्चिदिव मन्यसे,न आप कोई लाभ चाहते हैं और न हानि होनेपर उसके लिये शोक ही करते हैं। ब्रह्मन! आप नित्यतृप्त-से रहते हुए न किसी वस्तुको प्रिय मानते हैं और न अप्रिय
naiva prārthayase lābhaṃ nālābheṣv anuśocasi | nityatṛpta iva brahman nūnaṃ kiñcid iva manyase |
Prahlāda said: “You do not seek gain at all, nor do you grieve when gain is absent. O Brahmin, you appear ever-content, as though you regard everything here as insignificant.”
प्रह्माद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises equanimity: a disciplined person does not chase profit nor mourn its absence. Such steady contentment reflects inner freedom from craving and aversion, a key ethical ideal in Śānti Parva’s discussions of dharma and self-control.
Prahlāda addresses a Brahmin-like interlocutor and observes his unusual steadiness. He notes that the person neither seeks worldly gain nor laments lack of it, appearing perpetually satisfied and treating external things as of little consequence.