Shloka 8

अध्याय २६ — युद्ध-निन्दा, काम-दोष, तथा धार्तराष्ट्र-नीति-विश्लेषण

War-aversion, Desire as a Policy Fault, and Analysis of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Governance

Devanagari script

सुखप्रिये सेवमानो 5तिवेलं योगाभ्यासे यो न करोति कर्म । वित्तक्षये हीनसुखो5तिवेलं दुःखं शेते कामवेगप्रणुन्न:,जो मनुष्य भोग तथा प्रिय (पुत्रादि)-का निरन्तर सेवन करते हुए योगाभ्यासोपयोगी कर्मका सेवन नहीं करता, वह धनका क्षय हो जानेपर सुखसे वंचित हो कामवेगसे अत्यन्त विक्षुब्ध होकर सदा दुःखशय्यापर शयन करता रहता है

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

sukhapriye sevamāno 'tivelaṃ yogābhyāse yo na karoti karma |

vittakṣaye hīnasukho 'tivelaṃ duḥkhaṃ śete kāmavegapraṇunnaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “A man who, being devoted to pleasures, indulges in them excessively and does not perform the disciplines and duties that support spiritual practice—when his wealth is exhausted, he becomes bereft of happiness; driven and agitated by the force of desire, he lies down again and again upon a bed of sorrow.”

Word by Word

• {'sukhapriya': 'fond of pleasure

• pleasure-loving', 'sevamānaḥ': 'indulging in

• continually resorting to', 'ativelam': 'excessively

• beyond proper measure', 'yogābhyāsa': 'practice of yoga

• disciplined spiritual cultivation', 'karma': 'duty/action

• prescribed conduct', 'vittakṣaya': 'loss/exhaustion of wealth', 'hīnasukha': 'deprived of happiness

• lacking joy', 'duḥkham': 'sorrow

• suffering', 'śete': 'lies down

• remains (as if reclining) in', 'kāmavega': 'impulse/force of desire', 'praṇunnaḥ': 'driven

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Excessive indulgence in pleasures without performing disciplined, duty-based action (karma supportive of yogic practice) leads to ruin: when wealth ends, happiness collapses, and unchecked desire becomes a torment that keeps one trapped in suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya delivers a moral observation within the Udyoga Parva’s counsel-filled setting: he describes the fate of a pleasure-addicted person—neglecting yogic discipline and proper duties—who, after financial decline, is overwhelmed by desire and lives in continual misery.