Shloka 43
Daṇḍa-svarūpa-nirūpaṇa
The Nature, Forms, and Function of Daṇḍa
सर्वान् कामान् कामयानो हि धीर: सत्त्वेनाल्पेनाप्रुते हीनदोष: । यश्षात्मान प्रार्थयते<र्थ्यमानै: श्रेय:पात्रं पूरयते च नाल्पम्
sarvān kāmān kāmayāno hi dhīraḥ sattvenālpenāprute hīna-doṣaḥ | yaś cātmānaṃ prārthayate 'rthyamānaiḥ śreyaḥ-pātraṃ pūrayate ca nālpam ||
Bhishma dit : Même en désirant toutes les jouissances, l’homme ferme et clairvoyant—s’il est sans faute et sans souillure, soutenu fût-ce par une faible part de pureté intérieure—ne s’en trouve pas amoindri. Bien au contraire, lorsqu’il recherche le vrai bien du soi au milieu de ceux qui le sollicitent pour des fins mondaines, il remplit largement le vase du mérite et du bien-être, et non chichement.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Desire by itself is not the final measure of a person; what matters is inner purity (sattva), freedom from corruption and faults, and a deliberate orientation toward śreyas (the higher good). Even amid worldly requests and pressures, the wise person who seeks the self’s true welfare accumulates abundant merit and well-being.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right conduct, Bhishma continues advising Yudhishthira. Here he characterizes the dhīra (steadfast wise person): even if such a person moves among worldly desires and petitioners, his untainted nature and pursuit of śreyas make him a source and receptacle of great good rather than moral decline.