Shloka 85
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
इच्छाद्वेष भवैर्दु:खै: प्रकर्षो यत्र जायते । तत्र या नृपते वृत्तिस्तत् प्रयोजनमिष्यते
icchādveṣa-bhavaiḥ duḥkhaiḥ prakarṣo yatra jāyate | tatra yā nṛpate vṛttis tat prayojanam iṣyate, nareśvara ||
Bhīṣma bersabda: Wahai raja, di mana sahaja dalam penderitaan yang lahir daripada keinginan atau kebencian timbul suatu dominasi—sehingga satu jenis duka menjadi paling menonjol—maka kecenderungan batin (vṛtti) yang muncul ke hadapan pada saat itu itulah yang dianggap sebagai “prayojana” (tujuan), wahai penguasa manusia.
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma explains that what we call a person’s ‘purpose’ is often the dominant impulse that arises when desire or aversion generates suffering; the strongest pain-condition shapes the mind’s prevailing tendency (vṛtti), and that tendency functions as the operative aim (prayojana).
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king on dharma and inner discipline. Here he analyzes how desire and hatred produce suffering and how, in response, a particular disposition becomes dominant—clarifying the psychological basis of human aims and conduct.