Shloka 42
आपद्धर्मे वैश्यवृत्तिः, विक्रय-निषेधाः, तथा ब्रह्म-क्षत्र-सम्बन्धः
Emergency Livelihood, Prohibited Trade, and Brahman–Kshatra Regulation
यथा दारुमयो हस्ती यथा चर्ममयो मृगः । यथा हाानर्थ: षण्ढो वा पार्थ क्षेत्र यथोषरम्
yathā dārumayo hastī yathā carmamayo mṛgaḥ | yathā hānārthaḥ ṣaṇḍho vā pārtha kṣetra yathoṣaram ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Wie ein Elefant aus Holz und ein Hirsch aus Leder nur leblose Nachbildungen sind, so ist auch der, der keinerlei Ergebnis hervorzubringen vermag, bloße Vergeblichkeit; ebenso ein unfruchtbares Feld. Ebenso, o Pārtha, ist alles, dem die wahre Fähigkeit fehlt, seine rechte Frucht zu tragen, als leer und unergiebig anzusehen.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches discernment: judge things by their real capacity to produce the intended result. Mere appearance or name without efficacy is like a wooden elephant or a barren field—externally similar, but incapable of yielding the proper fruit.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the Pāṇḍavas on dharma and practical wisdom. Here he addresses Pārtha (Arjuna) using vivid analogies to emphasize that what lacks true power or productivity should be recognized as futile and not relied upon.