Shloka 21

Adhyāya 262: Śabda-brahman, Para-brahman, and the Ethics of Tyāga

Kapila–Syūmaraśmi Saṃvāda

Devanagari script

यथा सर्वरसैस्तृप्तो नाभिनन्दति किंचन

Transliteration

yathā sarvarasais tṛpto nābhinandati kiñcana

Translation

Chulādhāra said: “Just as one who has been fully satisfied by tasting every flavor no longer hankers after anything in particular, so too the wise, having attained inner contentment, do not run after objects of desire.”

Word by Word

• यथा: just as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• सर्वरसैः: by/with all tastes (flavors)
• सर्वरसैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वरस्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• तृप्तः: sated, satisfied
• तृप्तः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तृप्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अभिनन्दति: rejoices at, welcomes, approves
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-नन्द्
• Form: Present (Lat), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• किंचन: anything (at all)
• किंचन: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किंचन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

चुलाधार उवाच

Characters & Entities

• चुलाधार (Chulādhāra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True fulfillment is not increased by chasing particular pleasures; when one is inwardly ‘sated’ (tṛpta), craving and selective attachment fall away. The verse uses the metaphor of tasting all flavors to illustrate the ethical ideal of contentment and non-hankering.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right conduct, Chulādhāra speaks in a didactic tone, offering a metaphor to explain how a spiritually mature person relates to sense-objects: without excitement, grasping, or preference born of desire.