Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 33
अव्यक्त-मानस-सृष्टिवादः
Doctrine of Creation from the Unmanifest ‘Mānasa’
ये च मूढतमा लोके ये च बुद्धेः परं गता: । ते नरा: सुखमेधन्ते क्लिश्यत्यन्तरितो जन:,इस संसारमें जो अत्यन्त मूढ़ हैं और जो बुद्धिसे परे पहुँच गये हैं, वे ही मनुष्य सुखी हैं। बीचके सभी लोग कष्ट भोगते हैं
ye ca mūḍhatamā loke ye ca buddheḥ paraṃ gatāḥ | te narāḥ sukham edhante kliśyaty antarito janaḥ ||
Le brahmane dit : «En ce monde, ceux qui sont plongés dans la plus extrême illusion, et ceux qui ont dépassé la portée de l’intellect ordinaire, sont les seuls à s’épanouir dans le bonheur. Ceux qui se tiennent entre les deux — ni ignorants ni transcendés — sont ceux qui souffrent, tourmentés par le conflit intérieur et l’effort.»
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Happiness tends to belong to two extremes: (1) those sunk in ignorance who do not perceive moral or existential complexity, and (2) those who have transcended ordinary intellect through higher realization. Those in the middle—aware enough to be troubled but not yet liberated—experience the most distress.
Within the didactic discourse of the Śānti Parva, a Brāhmaṇa speaker offers a reflective observation about human suffering and contentment, contrasting the carefree ignorance of the deluded with the peace of the spiritually transcendent, while describing the inner strain of ordinary people caught between these states.