Shloka 19
उशनसः (शुक्रस्य) चरितम् — The Account of Uśanā (Śukra): Yoga, Grievance, and Pacification
तिर्यग्योनिसहस्राणि गत्वा नरकमेव च । निर्गच्छन्त्यवशा जीवा: कामबन्धनबन्धना:,कामनाओंके बन्धनमें बँधकर विवश हुए कितने ही जीव सहस्रों बार तिर्यक्योनि तथा नरकमें पड़कर पुनः वहाँसे निकलते हैं
tiryagyonisahasrāṇi gatvā narakam eva ca | nirgacchanty avaśā jīvāḥ kāmabandhanabandhanāḥ ||
Bhīṣma disse: Presos firmemente pelos grilhões do desejo, incontáveis seres vivos—impotentes sob essa compulsão—atravessam milhares de nascimentos como animais e até mesmo o inferno, e então de lá emergem, apenas para prosseguir o ciclo.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Desire (kāma) functions as a binding force that overwhelms self-mastery, driving beings into repeated painful states—animal births and hell—within saṃsāra. Ethical discipline and restraint are implied as the remedy to reduce bondage and suffering.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction in the Śānti Parva, he describes the plight of beings who, compelled by desire, repeatedly fall into lower births and hellish conditions and later emerge—illustrating the ongoing cycle of karmic consequence rather than a single, final punishment.