Shloka 2236
मनु-उपदेशः — भूत-उत्पत्ति, इन्द्रिय-निवृत्ति, तथा पर-स्वभाव-विवेकः
Manu’s Instruction on Elemental Origination, Sense-Withdrawal, and Discrimination of the Supreme Nature
न सुखेन न दुःखेन कदाचिदपि वर्तते । जीवात्माके आश्रित रहकर बुद्धि (सुख, दुःख और मोह) तीन भावोंमें स्थित होती है। वह कभी तो प्रसन्नताका अनुभव करती है, कभी शोकमें डूबी रहती है और कभी सुख और दुःख दोनोंके अनुभवसे रहित मोहाच्छन्न हो जाती है
na sukhena na duḥkhena kadācid api vartate |
Bhīṣma says: The inner self is not, in its own nature, conditioned by pleasure or by pain at any time. Rather, when the intellect abides in the embodied self, it appears in three modes—pleasure, sorrow, and delusion: sometimes it tastes gladness, sometimes it sinks into grief, and sometimes, veiled by bewilderment, it becomes insensible to both pleasure and pain.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The self (ātman/jīvātman) is not intrinsically altered by pleasure or pain; it is the intellect (buddhi), influenced by delusion (moha), that cycles through experiences of joy, grief, or numb confusion. The ethical implication is to cultivate discernment and detachment, recognizing experiences as states of mind rather than the essence of the self.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and liberation-oriented wisdom. Here he explains a psychological and metaphysical point: the apparent fluctuations of happiness and sorrow belong to the mind/intellect, while the self remains fundamentally untouched.