Shloka 25
मृत्योर्वा मुखमेतद् वै या ग्रामे वसतो रति: । देवानामेष वै गोष्ठो यदरण्यमिति श्रुति:
mṛtyor vā mukham etad vai yā grāme vasato ratiḥ | devānām eṣa vai goṣṭho yad araṇyam iti śrutiḥ ||
قال بهيشما: «حقًّا إنّ هذا التعلّق بالإقامة في القرية كأنّه فمُ الموتِ بعينه. فإنّ التقليد المسموع (śruti) يعلن أنّ الغابة هي حقًّا مجمعُ الآلهة».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Attachment to settled, comfort-oriented village life is portrayed as a direct doorway to spiritual decline and mortality, whereas the forest symbolizes austerity, simplicity, and proximity to the divine; the verse urges detachment and a turn toward disciplined living.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction during the Śānti Parva, he contrasts worldly habitation (the village) with the ascetic ideal (the forest), citing traditional authority (śruti) to elevate forest-dwelling as a sacred sphere associated with the gods.