Shloka 36
Adhyāya 180: Jīva, Śarīra, and the Fire Analogy (भृगु–भरद्वाज संवादः)
तदिदमनुनिशम्य विप्रपात॑ पृथगभिपतन्नमिहाबुरधर्मनुष्यै: । अनवसितमनन्तदोषपारं नृषु विहरामि विनीतदोषतृष्ण:
tad idam anu-niśamya vipra-pātaṃ pṛthag abhipatan namihābur adharma-manuṣyaiḥ | anavasitam ananta-doṣa-pāraṃ nṛṣu viharāmi vinīta-doṣa-tṛṣṇaḥ ||
ভীষ্মে ক’লে—এই ‘আজগৰ-বৃত্তি’ শুনি ধৰ্মবোধ বিকৃত মূৰ্খ লোকসকলে একে পাহাৰৰ চূড়াৰ পৰা পৰি যোৱাৰ দৰে ভয়ংকৰ বুলি ভাবি কঁপি উঠে; কিন্তু তেওঁলোকৰ বিচাৰ ভ্ৰান্ত। মই এই আজগৰ-বৃত্তিক অজ্ঞতা-নাশক আৰু সৰ্বদোষৰহিত বুলি মানোঁ। সেয়ে দোষদৃষ্টি আৰু তৃষ্ণা দমন কৰি মই মানুহৰ মাজত বিচৰণ কৰোঁ।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma defends ajagara-vṛtti—living without anxious striving and without grasping—as a legitimate dharmic discipline. He teaches that what the ignorant fear as ‘dangerous’ is actually a means to destroy ignorance, provided one abandons craving (tṛṣṇā) and the habit of seeing faults (doṣa) everywhere.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation-oriented conduct, Bhishma explains that many people misunderstand the ‘python-like’ ascetic stance and condemn it. He rejects their judgment and states his own commitment: moving among people while restraining desire and moral blemishes, he upholds this practice as blameless and spiritually clarifying.