Shloka 20
अव्यक्त-मानस-सृष्टिवादः
Doctrine of Creation from the Unmanifest ‘Mānasa’
सुखात् त्वं दुःखमापन्न: पुनरापत्स्यसे सुखम् | न नित्यं लभते दुःखं न नित्यं लभते सुखम्
sukhāt tvaṁ duḥkham āpannaḥ punar āpatsyase sukham | na nityaṁ labhate duḥkhaṁ na nityaṁ labhate sukham ||
Brahmana itu berkata: “Daripada kebahagiaan engkau telah jatuh ke dalam dukacita, dan kelak engkau akan kembali kepada kebahagiaan. Dukacita tidak diperoleh untuk selama-lamanya, dan kebahagiaan pun tidak diperoleh untuk selama-lamanya.”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the impermanence of both pleasure and pain: conditions change, so one should not despair in suffering nor become complacent in happiness, but cultivate steadiness and right conduct (dharma) through both.
In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, a Brahmin addresses someone undergoing distress, offering counsel meant to calm grief and restore perspective by reminding them that misfortune and good fortune alternate and neither lasts forever.