Shloka 22

अक्षरब्रह्मयोग (Akṣara-Brahma-Yoga) — Knowledge of the Imperishable, Prakṛti, and Devotion

Devanagari script

ये हि संस्पर्शजा भोगा दुःखयोनय एव ते । आटद्यन्तवन्त: कौन्तेय न तेषु रमते बुध:,जो ये इन्द्रिय तथा विषयोंके संयोगसे उत्पन्न होनेवाले सब भोग हैं, वे यद्यपि विषयी पुरुषोंको सुखरूप भासते हैं तो भी दुःखके ही हेतु हैं! और आदि-अन्तवाले अर्थात्‌ अनित्य हैं। इसलिये हे अर्जुन! बुद्धिमान्‌ विवेकी पुरुष उनमें नहीं रमता5

Transliteration

ye hi saṁsparśajā bhogā duḥkhayonaya eva te | ādyantavantaḥ kaunteya na teṣu ramate budhaḥ ||

Translation

Arjuna says: The pleasures that arise from contact between the senses and their objects are, in truth, sources of suffering. They have a beginning and an end and are therefore impermanent. Knowing this, O son of Kuntī, the wise person does not delight in them—choosing steadiness and discernment over fleeting gratification amid the moral crisis of war.

Word by Word

• {'ye': 'which, those', 'hi': 'indeed, for', 'saṁsparśa-ja': 'born of contact (sense-contact)', 'bhogāḥ': 'enjoyments, pleasures, experiences of gratification', 'duḥkha-yonayaḥ': 'wombs/sources of suffering

• causes that generate pain', 'eva': 'only, truly', 'te': 'they', 'ādy-anta-vantaḥ': 'having beginning and end

• finite, impermanent', 'kaunteya': 'O son of Kuntī (address to Arjuna)', 'na': 'not', 'teṣu': 'in them', 'ramate': 'delights, takes pleasure, becomes attached', 'budhaḥ': 'the wise, discerning person'}

Speaker

अर्जुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna (Kaunteya)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sense-born pleasures (from contact of senses and objects) are inherently limited and ultimately lead to suffering; therefore the wise do not cling to them, cultivating discernment and inner steadiness.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Kurukṣetra setting of Bhīṣma Parva, Arjuna is engaged in a moral and psychological struggle about action and duty; this verse articulates a key ethical insight used to steady the mind—rejecting transient sensory gratification in favor of wisdom-guided conduct.