Shloka 16
Bhīmasena’s Counsel on Grief, Inner Conflict, and the Duty of Kingship (भीमसेन-उपदेशः)
सत्वं न दुःखी दुःखस्य न सुखी च सुखस्य वा । न दुःखी सुखजातस्य न सुखी दुःखजस्य वा
sattvaṁ na duḥkhī duḥkhasya na sukhī ca sukhasya vā | na duḥkhī sukhajātasya na sukhī duḥkhajasya vā ||
毗舍波耶那说道：“此人不为苦而悲，不为乐而狂；在痛时不沉溺于乐想，在乐时亦不沉溺于苦念。如此心之平等——不肯随祸福更迭而漂荡——乃自律之性格的标记，亦指向伦理之理想：于命运转折之间恒常不动。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises mental steadiness: a disciplined person is not swept away by sorrow or happiness and does not obsess over the opposite state. This points to an ethical ideal for rulers and householders alike—self-mastery and balance amid changing circumstances.
Within the Śānti Parva’s instruction on royal duty (rājadharma), the narrator Vaiśaṃpāyana reports a characterization of an exemplary temperament—someone who remains even-minded through pleasure and pain—framing the moral tone of counsel given in this section.