Shloka 5
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय २५: संजयदूतवाक्यम्
Sañjaya’s Envoy-Speech on Peace
कामाभि ध्या स्वशरीरं दुनोति यया प्रमुक्तो न करोति दुःखम् | यथेध्यमानस्य समिद्धतेजसो भूयो बलं॑ वर्धते पावकस्य
kāmābhidhyā svaśarīraṁ dunoti yayā pramukto na karoti duḥkham | yathedhyamānasya samiddhatejaso bhūyo balaṁ vardhate pāvakasya ||
Sañjaya said: Brooding on objects of desire wears down one’s own body; but when a person is freed from that craving, he no longer manufactures suffering. For just as a fire, when fed with fuel and blazing with kindled radiance, grows ever stronger, so desire—when indulged—only increases in force.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Fixation on desire (kāmābhidhyā) harms the person and multiplies suffering; freedom comes from releasing that craving. Indulged desire grows stronger—like fire fed with fuel—so restraint and letting go are presented as the ethical remedy.
Sañjaya is conveying a reflective, moral observation within the Udyoga Parva’s counsel-filled atmosphere: he uses a vivid simile of fire to explain how desire intensifies when nourished, urging a stance of detachment to prevent further distress.