Shloka 13
Adhyāya 179 — Bharadvāja’s Reductionist Inquiry into Jīva and Pañcabhūta Dissolution
बहूनां कलहो नित्य द्वयो: संकथन ध्रुवम् । एकाकी विचरिष्यामि कुमारीशंखको यथा
bahūnāṁ kalaho nityaṁ dvayoḥ saṅkathanaṁ dhruvam | ekākī vicariṣyāmi kumārī-śaṅkhako yathā ||
قال بهيشما: «حيث يجتمع كثيرون ينشأ الشقاق يومًا بعد يوم؛ وحتى إذا لم يبقَ إلا اثنان فالكلام بينهما لا مفرّ منه. لذلك سأطوف وحدي—كالسوار الواحد المصنوع من صَدَفةِ الشَّنْخَة (المحارة) في يد عذراء غير متزوجة».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma highlights how social proximity easily breeds distraction and conflict: in crowds, quarrel is frequent; even with just two, conversation pulls the mind outward. The ethical counsel is to value solitude when seeking inner steadiness, restraint, and freedom from needless contention.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and conduct, Bhishma voices a resolve for solitary wandering. He uses a vivid simile: a single conch bangle on an unmarried maiden’s hand makes no clinking sound, suggesting that aloneness reduces friction and disturbance.