Shloka 8

Adhyāya 164: Gautama as Guest; Kaśyapa’s Satkāra and the Fourfold Arthagati; Journey to Virūpākṣa

Devanagari script

संकल्पाज्जायते काम: सेव्यमानो विवर्धते

Transliteration

saṅkalpāj jāyate kāmaḥ sevyamāno vivardhate

Translation

بھیشم نے کہا—سَنکلپ (ارادی عزم) سے کامنا پیدا ہوتی ہے؛ اور جب اسے برتا جائے اور بار بار اس کے پیچھے چلا جائے تو وہ بڑھتی ہی جاتی ہے۔ اخلاقی طور پر، ذہن کا ابتدائی ارادہ ہی خواہش کا بیج بنتا ہے، اور مسلسل لذت اسے بندھن کی قوت بنا دیتی ہے جو خود ضبطی اور دھرم کو کمزور کرتی ہے۔

Word by Word

संकल्पात्from (a) resolve/mental intention

जायतेis born/arises

कामःdesire

सेव्यमानःbeing indulged/served

विवर्धतेgrows/increases

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Desire does not appear randomly; it begins with saṅkalpa (a chosen mental resolve). If one keeps indulging that desire, it strengthens and becomes harder to restrain. Therefore, ethical discipline starts by guarding intention and limiting indulgence.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and inner discipline, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira about the psychology of desire: how it originates in the mind’s resolve and how repeated pursuit makes it grow, urging restraint and mindful governance of thought.