Shloka 26
अध्याय ३३१: नारायणकथा-प्रशंसा तथा नारदस्य श्वेतद्वीप-निवृत्ति एवं बदरी-आगमनम् | Chapter 331: Praise of the Nārāyaṇa Narrative; Nārada’s Return from Śvetadvīpa and Arrival at Badarī
शब्दे स्पर्शे च रूपे च गन्धेषु च रसेषु च । नोपभोगात् परं किंचिद् धनिनो वाधनस्य च,धनी हो या निर्धन, सबको उपभोगकालनमें ही शब्द, स्पर्श, रूप, रस और उत्तम गन्ध आदि विषयोंमें किंचित् सुखकी प्रतीति होती है, उपभोगके पश्चात् नहीं
śabde sparśe ca rūpe ca gandheṣu ca raseṣu ca | nopabhogāt paraṃ kiñcid dhaninō vā dhanasya ca ||
Nārada said: “In sound, touch, form, smell, and taste, there is no pleasure beyond the very act of enjoyment itself—whether for a wealthy person or for wealth as such. The sense of happiness arises only while the objects are being experienced; once the enjoyment has passed, it does not remain.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sensory pleasure is momentary and confined to the time of experience; neither wealth nor poverty changes this basic fact. Therefore, lasting well-being should not be sought in sense-objects but in restraint and inner steadiness.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Nārada is delivering a reflective teaching: he analyzes the five sense-objects and argues that their ‘happiness’ does not endure beyond the act of enjoyment, undercutting the assumption that wealth guarantees lasting satisfaction.