Shloka 8
Adhyāya 179 — Bharadvāja’s Reductionist Inquiry into Jīva and Pañcabhūta Dissolution
भीष्म उवाच आशा बलवती राजन नैराश्यं परमं सुखम् । आशा निराशां कृत्वा तु सुखं स्वपिति पिड्रला
bhīṣma uvāca | āśā balavatī rājan nairāśyaṃ paramaṃ sukham | āśāṃ nirāśāṃ kṛtvā tu sukhaṃ svapiti piṅgalā ||
Bhishma dit : «Ô roi, l’espérance (āśā) est d’une force extrême ; c’est elle qui précipite les êtres dans la détresse. L’absence d’espérance — l’abandon de toute attente — est le bonheur suprême. Ayant changé l’espérance en non‑espérance, la courtisane Piṅgalā s’endormit en paix.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Hope as craving and expectation is a powerful force that breeds anxiety and sorrow; the highest happiness comes from nairāśya—relinquishing expectation. When one abandons the restless demand for outcomes, the mind becomes calm and capable of true rest.
Bhishma instructs the king by citing Pingalā as an example: after exhausting herself in expectation, she abandons hope and, with that inner renunciation, attains peace and sleeps happily. The episode functions as a moral illustration within Bhishma’s counsel on self-mastery and tranquility.