Adhyāya 177: Pañca-mahābhūta-vicāra and Vṛkṣa-jīva-lakṣaṇa
Five Elements Inquiry and the Status of Plant Life
तेषां परमदु:खानां बुद्धया भैषज्यमाचरेत् । लोकथर्ममवज्ञाय ध्रुवाणामध्रुवै: सह
teṣāṃ paramaduḥkhānāṃ buddhyā bhaiṣajyam ācaret | lokadharmam avajñāya dhruvāṇām adhruvaiḥ saha ||
Para esses sofrimentos extremos e inevitáveis, deve-se, com entendimento claro, praticar o remédio apropriado. Desprezando o código meramente mundano, preso ao que é instável, busque-se a cura do que é certo (as grandes dores), em vez de apegar-se ao incerto junto do corpo perecível.
भीष्म उवाच
Use discernment to address inevitable, profound suffering by seeking a true remedy (inner cure), and do not be ruled by conventional worldly pursuits and attachments that depend on impermanent things.
Bhishma, in his Shanti Parva instruction, advises the listener to turn from ordinary social preoccupations tied to the transient and instead apply thoughtful effort toward the remedy for the certain and recurring sorrows of embodied life.