Shloka 10
मृत्योर्ब्रह्मणा नियोजनम् — The Commissioning of Mṛtyu by Brahmā
स कामकान्तो न तु कामकामः: स वै कामात् स्वर्गमुपैति देही
sa kāmakānto na tu kāmakāmaḥ | sa vai kāmāt svargamupaiti dehī |
Vyāsa explains that the person of steady wisdom is attractive to those driven by desire, yet he himself does not chase sense-enjoyments. By contrast, the embodied person who identifies with the body and longs for pleasures is carried by his desires toward their results—attaining heaven as a reward of desire-motivated action, rather than liberation born of inner freedom.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
A steady-minded person may be admired by the desire-driven, but he does not pursue pleasures; the body-identified pleasure-seeker, acting from desire, attains heaven as a karmic result—still within the cycle of results—rather than the freedom that comes from desirelessness.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on conduct and inner discipline, Vyāsa contrasts two orientations: the wise, self-controlled person versus the embodied person ruled by craving, explaining the different destinations produced by their motivations.