Shloka 55
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
कामक्रोधौ भयं निद्रा पञ्चम: श्वास उच्यते । एते दोषा: शरीरेषु दृश्यन्ते सर्वदेहिनाम्,काम, क्रोध, भय, निद्रा और श्वास--ये पाँच दोष समस्त देहधारियोंके शरीरोंमें देखे जाते हैं
kāmakrodhau bhayaṁ nidrā pañcamaḥ śvāsa ucyate | ete doṣāḥ śarīreṣu dṛśyante sarvadehinām ||
Bhishma said: Desire and anger, fear and sleep—and as the fifth, the breath—these are called the bodily faults. They are seen in the bodies of all embodied beings, and thus must be understood and disciplined in the pursuit of self-mastery and dharma.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse identifies five universally present disturbances in embodied life—desire, anger, fear, sleep, and breath—as factors that condition behavior. Recognizing their inevitability in the body encourages vigilance and discipline, so that one does not let them override discernment and dharma.
In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on righteous living and inner governance. Here he classifies common bodily and psychological forces that affect all beings, framing them as practical obstacles to be understood and regulated.