Chapter V · Śloka 22
Śrī Kṛṣṇa uvāca
ये हि संस्पर्शजा भोगा दुःखयोनय एव ते |
आद्यन्तवन्तः कौन्तेय न तेषु रमते बुधः ||
आद्यन्तवन्तः कौन्तेय न तेषु रमते बुधः ||
ye hi saṃsparśa-jā bhogā duḥkha-yonaya eva te |
ādy-antavantaḥ kaunteya na teṣu ramate budhaḥ ||
ādy-antavantaḥ kaunteya na teṣu ramate budhaḥ ||
The pleasures born of contact with sense objects are only sources of suffering. They have a beginning and an end, O son of Kunti — the wise do not delight in them.
Not that pleasure is evil, but that contact-born pleasure is inherently unstable. It arises, peaks, and fades — leaving the seeker more restless than before. The wise do not chase what time will inevitably take away.