Shloka 15

Bhīmasena’s Counsel on Grief, Inner Conflict, and the Duty of Kingship (भीमसेन-उपदेशः)

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत शान्तिपर्वके अन्तर्गत राजधमनुशासनपर्वमें अजुनवाक्यविषयक पंद्रहवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ,वश्ित्‌ सुखे वर्तमानो दुःखस्य स्मर्तुमिच्छति । वश्चिद्‌ दुःखे वर्तमान: सुखस्य स्मर्तुमिच्छति “कोई सुखमें रहकर दुःखकी बातें याद करना चाहता है और कोई दुःखमें रहकर सुखका स्मरण करना चाहता है

Transliteration

vaścid sukhe vartamāno duḥkhasya smartum icchati | vaścid duḥkhe vartamānaḥ sukhasya smartum icchati |

Translation

Ada yang hidup dalam kesenangan ingin mengingati penderitaan; ada pula yang hidup dalam penderitaan ingin mengingati kebahagiaan. Baris ini menyingkap kecenderungan minda mencari keseimbangan melalui ingatan—sama ada menumbuhkan rendah hati ketika makmur, atau memelihara harapan ketika ditimpa derita.

Word by Word

• {'vaścit (kaścit)': 'someone, a certain person', 'sukhe': 'in happiness, in comfort (locative)', 'duḥkhe': 'in sorrow, in distress (locative)', 'vartamānaḥ / vartamāno': 'being, remaining, existing (present participle)', 'duḥkhasya': 'of sorrow (genitive)', 'sukhasya': 'of happiness (genitive)', 'smartum': 'to remember, to recall (infinitive)', 'icchati': 'wishes, desires'}

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna (speaker attribution)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Human beings often use memory as a moral and psychological counterweight: remembering suffering while happy can foster humility and restraint, while remembering happiness while suffering can preserve hope and endurance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Within the Shanti Parva’s reflective, didactic setting, this statement (attributed here to Arjuna) functions as an observation about human nature—how people relate to sukha and duḥkha through recollection, shaping ethical conduct and resilience.