Shloka 15

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

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत शान्तिपर्वके अन्तर्गत राजधमनुशासनपर्वमें अजुनवाक्यविषयक पंद्रहवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

vaścid sukhe vartamāno duḥkhasya smartum icchati | vaścid duḥkhe vartamānaḥ sukhasya smartum icchati |

Translation

May ilan, habang namumuhay sa ginhawa, ay nagnanais alalahanin ang pagdurusa; at may ilan, habang namumuhay sa pagdurusa, ay nagnanais alalahanin ang kaligayahan. Ipinahihiwatig nito ang hilig ng isip na humanap ng balanse sa pamamagitan ng alaala—upang magpanatili ng kababaang-loob sa gitna ng kasaganaan, o upang mag-alaga ng pag-asa sa gitna ng dalamhati.

Word by Word

• {'vaścit (kaścit)': 'someone, a certain person', 'sukhe': 'in happiness, in comfort (locative)', 'duḥkhe': 'in sorrow, in distress (locative)', 'vartamānaḥ / vartamāno': 'being, remaining, existing (present participle)', 'duḥkhasya': 'of sorrow (genitive)', 'sukhasya': 'of happiness (genitive)', 'smartum': 'to remember, to recall (infinitive)', 'icchati': 'wishes, desires'}

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna (speaker attribution)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Human beings often use memory as a moral and psychological counterweight: remembering suffering while happy can foster humility and restraint, while remembering happiness while suffering can preserve hope and endurance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Within the Shanti Parva’s reflective, didactic setting, this statement (attributed here to Arjuna) functions as an observation about human nature—how people relate to sukha and duḥkha through recollection, shaping ethical conduct and resilience.