Shloka 35
Śānti-parva 168: Śoka-nivṛtti-buddhi (The Cognition that Reduces Grief) and Piṅgalā’s Nairāśya
नवनीतं यथा दध्नस्तथा कामोडर्थधर्मत: । श्रेयस्तैलं हि पिण्याकाद् घृतं श्रेय उदश्वित: । श्रेय: पुष्पफलं काष्ठात् कामो धर्मार्थियोर्वर:
navanītaṃ yathā dadhnas tathā kāmo 'rthadharmataḥ | śreyas tailaṃ hi piṇyākād ghṛtaṃ śreya udaśvitaḥ | śreyaḥ puṣpaphalaṃ kāṣṭhāt kāmo dharmārthayor varaḥ ||
De même que le beurre est l’essence tirée du caillé, de même le kāma est l’essence tirée du dharma et de l’artha. Comme l’huile est supérieure au tourteau, comme le ghee est supérieur au petit-lait, et comme les fleurs et les fruits d’un arbre sont supérieurs à son simple bois, ainsi le kāma est supérieur au dharma et à l’artha.
भीमयेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse argues, through everyday extraction metaphors (butter from curd, oil from oil-cake, ghee from buttermilk, fruit from wood), that kāma—desire/pleasure as a human aim—is the most ‘refined’ and motivating outcome among dharma and artha, because it is presented as what makes the other pursuits yield tangible satisfaction.
Within the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Bhīma is depicted advancing a viewpoint about the hierarchy of life-goals (puruṣārthas), asserting the superiority of kāma over dharma and artha, and supporting his claim with persuasive analogies drawn from household and agrarian life.