Shloka 24
जानामि काम त्वां चैव यच्च किंचित् प्रियं तव । तवाहं प्रियमन्विच्छन्नात्मन्युपलभे सुखम्,“काम! मैं तुझे अच्छी तरह जानता हूँ और जो कुछ तुझे प्रिय लगता है, उससे भी परिचित हूँ। चिरकालसे तेरा प्रिय करनेकी चेष्टा करता चला आ रहा हूँ; परंतु कभी मेरे मनमें सुखका अनुभव नहीं हुआ
jānāmi kāma tvāṁ caiva yac ca kiñcit priyaṁ tava | tavāhaṁ priyam anvicchann ātmany upalabhe sukham ||
ಓ ಕಾಮಾ! ನಿನ್ನನ್ನೂ ನಾನು ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ತಿಳಿದಿದ್ದೇನೆ; ನಿನಗೆ ಪ್ರಿಯವಾದದ್ದನ್ನೆಲ್ಲವೂ ತಿಳಿದಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ದೀರ್ಘಕಾಲ ನಿನಗೆ ಇಷ್ಟವಾದುದನ್ನು ಸಾಧಿಸಲು ಯತ್ನಿಸಿದ್ದೇನೆ; ಆದರೆ ನನ್ನೊಳಗೆ ಸುಖವನ್ನು ಕಂಡಿಲ್ಲ.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Pleasing desire does not guarantee inner well-being; even sustained pursuit of what craving calls ‘pleasant’ can fail to produce sukha. The verse points toward ethical self-examination and the need to seek happiness within, not through compulsive gratification.
In Bhishma’s instruction in the Śānti Parva, he addresses Kāma as a recognizable inner force. He declares that he understands desire and its preferences, yet confesses that long service to it has not yielded peace or happiness in his own self—setting up a critique of desire as an unreliable guide.