Shloka 14
चन्दने मलपड़्के च भोजने5भोजने समा: । सम॑ येषां दुकूलं च तथा क्षौमाजिनानि च,वे चन्दन और मलकी कीचड़में, भोजन और उपवासमें समान दृष्टि रखते हैं। उनके लिये साधारण वस्त्र, रेशमी वस्त्र और मृगछाला समान हैं
candane malapaṅke ca bhojane ’bhojane samāḥ | samaṁ yeṣāṁ dukūlaṁ ca tathā kṣaumājināni ca ||
Bhishma said: Those who remain even-minded in sandalwood paste and in the mire of filth, in eating and in fasting—those for whom coarse cloth and fine silk, and likewise linen and deerskin, are all the same—such people are marked by inner steadiness and freedom from attachment to comfort or discomfort.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches equanimity (samatva): a disciplined person is not swayed by comfort or discomfort, honor or contempt, luxury or austerity. Such steadiness reflects inner freedom from attachment and aversion.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs on dharma and virtuous conduct. Here he describes the qualities of a spiritually mature person by listing pairs of opposites—pleasant and unpleasant, indulgence and restraint, fine and coarse clothing—and stating that the wise regard them as the same.