Shloka 26
Daṇḍotpatti-kathana (Origin and Function of Daṇḍa) — वसुहोम–मान्धातृ संवाद
कामाकामावृतुर्मास: शर्वरी दिवस: क्षण: | अप्रमाद: प्रमादश्न हर्षक्रोधौ शमो दम:
bhīṣma uvāca | kāmākāmāvṛturmāsaḥ śarvarī divasaḥ kṣaṇaḥ | apramādaḥ pramādaś ca harṣakrodhau śamo damaḥ |
Bhishma said: Desire and non-desire; the seasons and the months; night and day; the fleeting moment; vigilance and negligence; joy and anger; tranquility and self-restraint—these paired conditions and forces are seen throughout life as alternating powers that govern human conduct and experience. By recognizing them as operative principles rather than absolute goods in themselves, one learns to discipline the mind and act in accordance with dharma.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights fundamental dualities—desire/dispassion, vigilance/negligence, joy/anger, calm/self-restraint, and the cycles of time—implying that ethical life requires awareness of these forces and cultivation of apramāda (vigilance), śama (inner calm), and dama (sense-control) to remain aligned with dharma.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on kingship and dharma after the war. Here he enumerates paired states and temporal cycles to show how human life is governed by shifting conditions, urging disciplined awareness rather than being driven by impulses.