Shloka 143
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
स्वप्नकामो न लभते स्वप्तुं कार्यार्थिभिर्जन: । शयने चाप्यनुज्ञात: सुप्त उत्थाप्यतेडवश:
svapna-kāmo na labhate svaptuṁ kāryārthibhir janaḥ | śayane cāpy anu-jñātaḥ supta utthāpyate ’vaśaḥ ||
Bhishma says: “A man who longs for sleep does not obtain it, for he is surrounded by people pressing their business. Even when he has been permitted to lie down, he is helplessly roused again from sleep at others’ request.”
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Personal comfort is often sacrificed under the weight of duty—especially in governance. The verse highlights the ethical cost of responsibility: one must endure inconvenience for the sake of others’ needs.
Bhishma illustrates, through a vivid everyday image, how a person (implicitly a ruler) cannot even sleep peacefully because people with urgent business keep approaching; even after lying down, he is compelled to rise again.