श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच । सन्तोषो हि परं श्रेयः सन्तोषः सुखमुच्यते । सन्तुष्टः परमभ्येति विश्राममरिसूदन ॥ १ ॥
śrīvasiṣṭha uvāca | santōṣō hi paraṁ śrēyaḥ santōṣaḥ sukhamucyatē | santuṣṭaḥ paramabhyēti viśrāmamarisūdana || 1 ||
Translation
Śrī Vasiṣṭha said: Contentment is the highest good; contentment is called happiness. The contented one comes to the highest rest, O destroyer of foes.
Word by word
- śrīvasiṣṭha
- Śrī Vasiṣṭha
- uvāca
- said
- santōṣō
- (santoṣaḥ) contentment
- hi
- indeed
- paraṁ
- the highest
- śrēyaḥ
- good
- santōṣaḥ
- contentment
- sukham
- happiness
- ucyatē
- is called
- santuṣṭaḥ
- the contented one
- param
- the highest
- abhyēti
- comes to
- viśrāmam
- rest
- arisūdana
- O destroyer of foes
Meaning
After peace and inquiry, the third gatekeeper: santoṣa, contentment. The commentary reads the two names in the first line as the two goods people seek. Contentment is called the highest good, the bliss of liberation, and it is called happiness, the joy usually hoped for in heaven. The reason is in the second line. The contented person comes to a rest without limit: the sorrow of a scattered, restless mind, the commentary says, is wholly gone. Contentment is not praised here as a modest virtue, making do with less. It is the end of the restlessness that makes every lack felt.