Shloka 10
प्रजापति मनु एवं महर्षि बृहस्पतिका संवाद मनुर॒ुवाच यद् यत्प्रियं यस्य सुखं तदाहु- स्तदेव दु:खं प्रवदन्त्यनिष्टम्,मनुने कहा--जिसको जो-जो विषय प्रिय होता है, वही उसके लिये सुखरूप बताया गया है और जो अप्रिय होता है, उसे ही दुःखरूप कहा गया है। मुझे इष्ट (प्रिय) की प्राप्ति हो और अनिष्टका निवारण हो जाय, इसीके लिये कर्मोंका अनुष्ठान आरम्भ किया गया है तथा इष्ट और अनिष्ट दोनों ही मुझे प्राप्त न हों, इसके लिये ज्ञानयोगका उपदेश किया गया है
bhīṣma uvāca | prajāpati-manu evaṃ maharṣi-bṛhaspati-kā saṃvādaḥ | manur uvāca— yad yat priyaṃ yasya sukhaṃ tad āhuḥ; tad eva duḥkhaṃ pravadanty aniṣṭam | iṣṭa-prāptir me bhavatu, aniṣṭa-nivṛttiś ca—ity etad-arthaṃ karmāṇām anuṣṭhānam ārabhyate; iṣṭāniṣṭa-ubhayam api mā me prāpnuyāt—ity etad-arthaṃ jñāna-yogasya upadeśaḥ ||
Bhishma said: In the dialogue of Prajapati Manu and the great sage Brihaspati, Manu declares: “Whatever a person finds pleasing is called happiness for that person; and what is displeasing is described as suffering. With the aim, ‘May I obtain what I desire and may what I do not desire be removed,’ people begin the performance of actions (karma). But with the aim, ‘May neither the desired nor the undesired come to me at all,’ the discipline of the yoga of knowledge is taught.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Happiness and suffering are defined relative to personal liking and disliking. Ordinary action (karma) is undertaken to secure the desired and avert the undesired, while the yoga of knowledge is taught for a higher aim: freedom from being bound by either—transcending both attraction and aversion.
Bhishma, instructing on dharma in the Shanti Parva, cites a teaching from the dialogue between Manu and Brihaspati. Manu explains why people pursue action for results and why, beyond that, knowledge-discipline is prescribed to rise above the dualities of desired and undesired outcomes.