Shloka 64
प्रह्लादचरितम् (हिरण्यकशिपोः स्वर्गापहरणं, प्रह्लादस्य विष्णुभक्तिः, उपदेशः)
अग्नेः शीतेन तोयस्य तृषा भक्तस्य च क्षुधा क्रियते सुखकर्तृत्वं तद्विलोमस्य चेतरैः
agneḥ śītena toyasya tṛṣā bhaktasya ca kṣudhā kriyate sukhakartṛtvaṃ tadvilomasya cetaraiḥ
El agua fría da consuelo a quien arde por el fuego; el hambre hace del alimento una dicha; del mismo modo, las demás cosas se vuelven causas de placer sólo por la condición opuesta y su inversión.
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)
FAQs
This verse explains that pleasure is often experienced only in contrast to suffering—cool water delights one who is burned, and food delights one who is hungry—showing worldly happiness to be conditional and dependent on opposites.
He uses paired examples (heat/coolness, hunger/food) to show that an object becomes a cause of happiness due to a prior opposing condition; without the opposite state, the same object may not produce the same joy.
By highlighting the conditional nature of worldly sukha, the teaching implicitly directs the seeker toward the unconditioned Supreme Reality—Vishnu—whose fullness is not dependent on opposites or changing circumstances.