Shloka 10

Bhīmasena’s Counsel on Grief, Inner Conflict, and the Duty of Kingship (भीमसेन-उपदेशः)

Devanagari script

“कभी शारीरिक व्याधिसे मानसिक व्याधि होती है, इसमें संशय नहीं है। इसी प्रकार कभी मानसिक व्याधिसे शारीरिक व्याधिका होना भी निश्चित ही है ।। शारीरं मानसं दुःखं यो5तीतमनुशोचति । दुःखेन लभते दुःखं द्वावनर्थो च विन्दति

Transliteration

śārīraṃ mānasaṃ duḥkhaṃ yo 'tītam anuśocati | duḥkhena labhate duḥkhaṃ dvāv anarthau ca vindati ||

Translation

வைசம்பாயனர் கூறினார்—கடந்த உடல் அல்லது மனத் துயரத்தை நினைந்து நினைந்து புலம்புகிறவன், துயரத்தால் துயரமே பெறுகிறான்; இரு தீமைகளை அடைகிறான்—மீண்டும் வேதனை, மேலும் சேதம்.

Word by Word

शारीरम्bodily (pain/suffering)

मानसम्mental (pain/suffering)

दुःखम्sorrow, suffering

यःwho

अतीतम्past, gone-by

अनुशोचतिgrieves over, laments

दुःखेनby/through sorrow

लभतेobtains, gets

दुःखम्sorrow

द्वौtwo

अनर्थौmisfortunes, harms

चand

विन्दतिfinds, meets with

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dwelling on past pain—physical or mental—does not heal it; it generates fresh sorrow. The verse advises restraint of rumination, since grief over what has passed becomes a new cause of suffering and leads to compounded harm.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the didactic discourse of the Śānti Parva, Vaiśampāyana presents a general ethical-psychological maxim: bodily and mental afflictions are interconnected, and lamenting past distress perpetuates and increases one’s misery.