Mahabharata — Bhishma Parva, Shloka 70
कर्मयोग–ज्ञानयज्ञ–अवतारोपदेश
Karma-Yoga, Jñāna-Yajña, and Avatāra Instruction
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं समुद्रमाप: प्रविशन्ति यद्धत् तद्वत् कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे स शान्तिमाप्रोति न कामकामी
āpūryamāṇam acala-pratiṣṭhaṁ samudram āpaḥ praviśanti yadvat | tadvat kāmā yaṁ praviśanti sarve sa śāntim āpnoti na kāma-kāmī ||
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत् । तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे स शान्तिमाप्नोति न कामकामी ॥
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Peace belongs to the person whose inner stability is not shaken by the arrival of sense-objects and desires; cravings may arise and pass, but they do not create agitation or compulsion. The craving-driven person, who actively seeks pleasures, remains unpeaceful.
In the midst of the Kurukṣetra crisis, the teaching on the marks of the steady-minded (sthita-prajña) continues. This verse uses the ocean metaphor to describe the sage’s unperturbed mind: experiences enter, yet do not disturb inner equilibrium.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.