Shloka 15

Bhīmasena’s Counsel on Grief, Inner Conflict, and the Duty of Kingship (भीमसेन-उपदेशः)

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत शान्तिपर्वके अन्तर्गत राजधमनुशासनपर्वमें अजुनवाक्यविषयक पंद्रहवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

vaścid sukhe vartamāno duḥkhasya smartum icchati | vaścid duḥkhe vartamānaḥ sukhasya smartum icchati |

Translation

Certains, vivant dans l’aisance, souhaitent se souvenir de la souffrance ; d’autres, vivant dans la souffrance, souhaitent se souvenir du bonheur. Ce vers révèle la tendance de l’esprit à chercher l’équilibre par la mémoire : soit en nourrissant l’humilité au sein de la prospérité, soit en maintenant l’espérance au cœur de l’épreuve.

Word by Word

• {'vaścit (kaścit)': 'someone, a certain person', 'sukhe': 'in happiness, in comfort (locative)', 'duḥkhe': 'in sorrow, in distress (locative)', 'vartamānaḥ / vartamāno': 'being, remaining, existing (present participle)', 'duḥkhasya': 'of sorrow (genitive)', 'sukhasya': 'of happiness (genitive)', 'smartum': 'to remember, to recall (infinitive)', 'icchati': 'wishes, desires'}

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna (speaker attribution)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Human beings often use memory as a moral and psychological counterweight: remembering suffering while happy can foster humility and restraint, while remembering happiness while suffering can preserve hope and endurance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Within the Shanti Parva’s reflective, didactic setting, this statement (attributed here to Arjuna) functions as an observation about human nature—how people relate to sukha and duḥkha through recollection, shaping ethical conduct and resilience.