Shloka 112
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
काम कामद कामघ्न तृप्तातृप्तविचारिणे । सर्व सर्वद सर्वघ्न संध्याराग नमोस्तु ते
kāma kāmada kāmaghna tṛptātṛptavicāriṇe | sarva sarvada sarvaghna sandhyārāga namo'stu te ||
毗湿摩曰：噫，欲（Kāma）——赐欲者，灭欲者；审察满足与不满足之境者。噫，遍一切者——施与一切者，毁灭一切者——暮色之相者，谨致敬礼。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Desire (kāma) is portrayed as ambivalent: it can fulfill aims (kāmada) yet also annihilate them (kāmaghna), and it keeps the mind oscillating between satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Ethical life requires discerning this force and governing it so that it does not overpower dharma.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction, Bhīṣma delivers reflective teachings to guide conduct after the war. Here he offers a reverential address to Kāma, recognizing its cosmic and psychological power—both creative and destructive—within the moral analysis of human motivation.