Shloka 152
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
अमुक्तो मानसैर्दु:खैरिच्छाद्वेषभयोद्धवै: । शिरोरोगादिभी रोगैस्तथैवाभिनियन्तृभि:
amukto mānasair duḥkhair icchādveṣabhayodbhavaiḥ | śirorogādibhī rogais tathaivābhiniyantṛbhiḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : Un roi n’est jamais véritablement affranchi des souffrances de l’esprit nées du désir, de l’aversion et de la peur. De même, les maux du corps—tels que les céphalées et autres—le tiennent contraint de toutes parts, l’agitant sans relâche. L’enseignement souligne que la souveraineté ne garantit pas la liberté intérieure ; passions et inquiétudes non maîtrisées deviennent la servitude constante du souverain.
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and kingship do not remove suffering; desire, aversion, and fear generate persistent mental distress, and even bodily illness further binds a ruler. The implied ethical counsel is mastery over passions and fears as essential to true freedom and good governance.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma continues advising about the burdens of rulership, emphasizing that a king remains surrounded by inner anxieties and physical ailments that keep him constrained and restless.