Shloka 29
Kṣemadarśa–Kālakavṛkṣīya Saṃvāda: Counsel on Impermanence, Non-attachment, and Composure in Dispossession
यथालब्धोपपन्नार्थस्तथा कौसल्य रंस्यसे । कच्चिच्छुद्धस्वभावेन श्रिया हीनो न शोचसि
yathālabdhopapannārthas tathā kauśalya raṁsyase | kaccic chuddhasvabhāvena śriyā hīno na śocasi, kosalanareśa |
Bhishma berkata: “Wahai Kauśalya, mampukah engkau tetap bersukacita dengan kepuasan yang sama seperti dahulu, menikmati apa pun yang datang karena takdir dan keadaan? Wahai raja Kosala, kini ketika kemakmuran kerajaan sirna, apakah engkau tetap bebas dari duka dengan watak yang murni dan teguh?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse commends yathā-lābha-santoṣa—contentment with what comes unbidden—and tests inner purity by asking whether one can remain free from grief even when prosperity and royal status are lost.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs and examines a ruler’s mental steadiness: he asks the king of Kosala whether, after losing royal fortune, he can still live joyfully with whatever circumstances arise, without sorrow.