Shloka 5
Adhyāya 177: Pañca-mahābhūta-vicāra and Vṛkṣa-jīva-lakṣaṇa
Five Elements Inquiry and the Status of Plant Life
तयोरेकतरे मार्गे यदेनमभिसन्नयेत् । न सुखं प्राप्य संहृष्येन्नासुखं प्राप्प संज्वरेत्,“विधाता यदि उसे सुख और दु:ख इन दोनोंमेंसे किसी एकके मार्गपर ले जाय तो वह न तो सुख पाकर प्रसन्न हो और न दुःखमें पड़कर परितप्त हो
tayor ekatare mārge yadenam abhisannayet | na sukhaṃ prāpya saṃhṛṣyen nāsukhaṃ prāpya saṃjvaret ||
Dijo Bhishma: Si el Ordenador del destino condujera a un hombre por uno de los dos caminos —placer o dolor—, no debe exaltarse al alcanzar la dicha ni arder de aflicción al caer en el sufrimiento.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Maintain equanimity: do not become intoxicated by happiness or crushed by suffering. Since outcomes may be allotted by the Ordainer, the wise response is steadiness, restraint, and inner balance rather than emotional extremes.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs on dharma and right conduct. Here he advises the listener that when life moves along either of the two inevitable tracks—pleasure or pain—one should remain composed, neither celebrating nor lamenting excessively.