Shloka 21
Karma-Phala Rahasya and the Ethics of Dāna (कर्मफल-रहस्यं दानधर्मश्च)
या दुस्त्यजा दुर्मतिभिर्या न जीर्य॑ति जीर्यत: । योडसौ प्राणान्तिको रोगस्तां तृष्णां त्यजत: सुखम्
yā dustyajā durmatibhir yā na jīryati jīryataḥ | yo 'sau prāṇāntiko rogas tāṃ tṛṣṇāṃ tyajataḥ sukham ||
ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದನು— ದುರ್ಮತಿಗಳಿಗೆ ತ್ಯಜಿಸಲು ಕಷ್ಟವಾದ, ಮನುಷ್ಯನು ವೃದ್ಧನಾದರೂ ತಾನೇ ವೃದ್ಧಿಯಾಗದ, ಪ್ರಾಣಾಂತಕ ರೋಗದಂತೆ ಸದಾ ಕಾಡುವ ಆ ತೃಷ್ಣೆಯನ್ನು ತ್ಯಜಿಸಿದವನಿಗೇ ನಿಜವಾದ ಸುಖ ದೊರೆಯುತ್ತದೆ.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Insatiable craving (tṛṣṇā) is portrayed as a persistent, life-sapping affliction; genuine happiness arises not from satisfying it but from abandoning it through clear judgment and self-restraint.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma and right conduct, he offers a moral diagnosis: desire does not fade with age and harms like a deadly disease; he therefore commends renunciation of craving as the practical path to peace.