Shloka 16
कामतृष्णावैराग्योपदेशः तथा राज्यविभागः
Teaching on Desire & Renunciation; Delegation of Kingdoms
या दुस्त्यजा दुर्मतिभिर् या न जीर्यति जीर्यतः तां तृष्णां संत्यजेत् प्राज्ञः सुखेनैवाभिपूर्यते
yā dustyajā durmatibhir yā na jīryati jīryataḥ tāṃ tṛṣṇāṃ saṃtyajet prājñaḥ sukhenaivābhipūryate
That craving which the ill-judging find impossible to abandon—and which does not grow old even as one grows old—let the wise renounce that thirst; by relinquishing it alone, one becomes fulfilled with ease.
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: The nature of tṛṣṇā as ageless and hard to abandon; the wise renounce it and attain effortless fulfillment.
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Craving does not wither with age and is difficult for the deluded to abandon; the wise relinquish it and thereby become inwardly complete.
Vedantic Theme: Moksha
Application: Regularly simplify desires (one-in/one-out), practice fasting from a chosen indulgence, and replace craving with purposeful devotion and service.
Vishishtadvaita: Renunciation is not nihilistic but teleological: by dropping false dependencies, the self becomes ‘fulfilled’ (abhipūryate), consistent with the Viśiṣṭādvaita view that fullness is found in the Lord, not in negating the self.
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse treats craving as uniquely dangerous because it persists even as the body declines; abandoning it is presented as the direct cause of real contentment.
He frames fulfillment not as acquiring objects of desire, but as becoming inwardly complete by renouncing the thirst that keeps generating new wants.
By urging mastery over craving, the teaching aligns the seeker toward steadiness and purity—conditions that support devotion and realization of Vishnu as the supreme, all-satisfying reality.