Shloka 56
कलत्रपुत्रमित्रार्थगृहक्षेत्रधनादिकैः क्रियते न तथा भूरि सुखं पुंसां यथासुखम्
kalatraputramitrārthagṛhakṣetradhanādikaiḥ kriyate na tathā bhūri sukhaṃ puṃsāṃ yathāsukham
Through wife and children, friends and gain, house and land, wealth and the rest—men do not obtain happiness in such abundance as they do through contentment itself.
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Means to lasting happiness and release amid saṃsāra
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: External possessions and relations do not yield abundant happiness; contentment (santoṣa) does.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Cultivate daily contentment by limiting wants and practicing gratitude alongside steady sādhana.
Vishishtadvaita: Implied contrast between transient, dependent pleasures and the stable joy grounded in the Lord as the soul’s support.
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse teaches that inner contentment yields greater and more reliable happiness than external supports like family, property, and wealth.
He lists common sources of attachment—relations, possessions, and status—and states they cannot generate happiness as abundantly as inner ease, implying worldly sukha is dependent and unstable.
By devaluing material “supports” of happiness, the teaching redirects the seeker toward the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—whose remembrance and devotion ground lasting well-being beyond saṃsāra.