Shloka 21
Karma-Phala Rahasya and the Ethics of Dāna (कर्मफल-रहस्यं दानधर्मश्च)
या दुस्त्यजा दुर्मतिभिर्या न जीर्य॑ति जीर्यत: । योडसौ प्राणान्तिको रोगस्तां तृष्णां त्यजत: सुखम्
yā dustyajā durmatibhir yā na jīryati jīryataḥ | yo 'sau prāṇāntiko rogas tāṃ tṛṣṇāṃ tyajataḥ sukham ||
Bhishma dit : «Cette convoitise, si difficile à abandonner pour les esprits égarés, qui ne vieillit pas quand l’homme vieillit, et qui tourmente sans cesse comme une maladie qui ôte la vie—seul celui qui rejette cette soif obtient le vrai bonheur».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Insatiable craving (tṛṣṇā) is portrayed as a persistent, life-sapping affliction; genuine happiness arises not from satisfying it but from abandoning it through clear judgment and self-restraint.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma and right conduct, he offers a moral diagnosis: desire does not fade with age and harms like a deadly disease; he therefore commends renunciation of craving as the practical path to peace.