Shloka 15
जनकस्य युद्धोपदेशः — Janaka’s Instruction on Steadfast Battle-Conduct
चराणामचरा ह्वान्नमदंष्टा दंष्टिणामपि । आप: पिपासतामन्नमन्नं शूरस्य कातरा:
carāṇām acarā hy annam adaṁṣṭrā daṁṣṭinām api | āpaḥ pipāsatām annam annaṁ śūrasya kātarāḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “In the order of the world, the moving live upon the unmoving; the toothless become the food of the toothed. For the thirsty, water itself is ‘food’; and for the truly brave, the coward is as food—one who is consumed and overcome. Thus, strength, need, and fear shape the natural hierarchy, and a wise person should recognize this pattern when reflecting on conduct and power.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states a general law of the world: beings sustain themselves by consuming what is weaker or more vulnerable, and even human courage and fear create a hierarchy. Ethically, it urges clear-eyed understanding of power and dependence when judging conduct and governance.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the realities of rule and society. Here he uses vivid natural metaphors—moving vs. unmoving, toothed vs. toothless, thirsty vs. water, brave vs. coward—to illustrate how dominance and need operate in the world.