Shloka 5
Adhyāya 177: Pañca-mahābhūta-vicāra and Vṛkṣa-jīva-lakṣaṇa
Five Elements Inquiry and the Status of Plant Life
तयोरेकतरे मार्गे यदेनमभिसन्नयेत् । न सुखं प्राप्य संहृष्येन्नासुखं प्राप्प संज्वरेत्
tayor ekatare mārge yadenam abhisannayet | na sukhaṃ prāpya saṃhṛṣyen nāsukhaṃ prāpya saṃjvaret ||
毗湿摩说道：若造物主将一人引向两途之一——乐或苦——他得乐不当狂喜，遭苦亦不当焦灼；当以定心承受。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Maintain equanimity: do not become intoxicated by happiness or crushed by suffering. Since outcomes may be allotted by the Ordainer, the wise response is steadiness, restraint, and inner balance rather than emotional extremes.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs on dharma and right conduct. Here he advises the listener that when life moves along either of the two inevitable tracks—pleasure or pain—one should remain composed, neither celebrating nor lamenting excessively.