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

有人身处安乐，反愿追忆苦难；有人沉沦苦境，却愿追忆幸福。此句点明心之所向：借由记忆求取平衡——或在富贵中生起谦抑，或在困厄中守住希望。

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.