Shanti Parva Adhyaya 168 Shloka 36 - Mahabharata | Lao | Vedapath

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Shloka 36

Śānti-parva 168: Śoka-nivṛtti-buddhi (The Cognition that Reduces Grief) and Piṅgalā’s Nairāśya

Devanagari script

पुष्पतो मथ्विव रस: काम आशभ्यां तथा स्मृतः । कामो धर्मार्थयोर्योनि: कामश्चाथ तदात्मक:

Transliteration

puṣpato madhv iva rasaḥ kāma āśrabhyaṃ tathā smṛtaḥ | kāmo dharmārthayor yoniḥ kāmaś cātha tadātmakaḥ ||

Translation

ເຫມືອນນ້ຳເຜິ້ງເປັນສານອັນປະເສີດທີ່ສຸດຈາກດອກໄມ້, ກາມະກໍຖືກຈື່ຈຳວ່າເປັນສານທີ່ສູງກວ່າທຳມະ ແລະ ອັດຖະ. ກາມະແມ່ນແຫຼ່ງກຳເນີດຂອງທຳມະແລະອັດຖະ; ເພາະສະນັ້ນ ກາມະຈຶ່ງມີສະພາບເປັນທຳມະແລະອັດຖະດ້ວຍ.

Word by Word

पुष्पतःfrom a flower

मधु-इवlike honey

रसःjuice, essence

कामःdesire; kāma

अर्थाभ्याम्from/than artha (wealth, purpose) (twofold form used with dharma)

तथाthus, in the same way

स्मृतःis considered/remembered

कामःkāma

धर्म-अर्थयोःof dharma and artha

योनिḥsource, origin, cause

कामःkāma

चand

अथthen, moreover

तदात्मकःhaving their nature; consisting of that (i.e., of dharma and artha)

Speaker

भीमयेन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames kāma (desire) as a powerful motivating essence: like honey extracted from flowers, it is presented as the driving source that can generate pursuits of dharma (ethical duty) and artha (worldly welfare). It suggests that human striving for duty and prosperity often arises from underlying desire, so kāma must be understood and governed rather than ignored.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma is teaching about the aims of life and their interrelation. Here he uses an analogy (flower and honey) to explain how kāma functions as an inner impetus connected to dharma and artha.