Shloka 36
Śānti-parva 168: Śoka-nivṛtti-buddhi (The Cognition that Reduces Grief) and Piṅgalā’s Nairāśya
पुष्पतो मथ्विव रस: काम आशभ्यां तथा स्मृतः । कामो धर्मार्थयोर्योनि: कामश्चाथ तदात्मक:
puṣpato madhv iva rasaḥ kāma āśrabhyaṃ tathā smṛtaḥ | kāmo dharmārthayor yoniḥ kāmaś cātha tadātmakaḥ ||
Assim como o mel é a mais fina essência extraída da flor, assim o kāma é lembrado como a essência superior em relação a dharma e artha. O kāma é o ventre e a fonte de onde surgem dharma e artha; por isso, o kāma, de certo modo, assume a própria natureza deles.
भीमयेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.
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.