Shloka 25
अचलमनिधनं शिवं विशोक॑ शुचिमतुल विदुषां मते प्रविष्टम् । अनभिमतमसेवितं विमूढै- ब्रीतमिदमाजगरं शुचिश्नचरामि,मैं सदा पवित्रभावसे रहकर इस अजगरवृत्तिका अनुसरण करता हूँ। यह अत्यन्त सुदृढ़, मृत्युसे दूर रखनेवाली, कल्याणमय, शोकहीन, शुद्ध, अनुपम और विद्वानोंके मतके अनुकूल है। मूर्ख मनुष्य न तो इसे मानते हैं और न इसका सेवन ही करते हैं
acalam anidhanaṁ śivaṁ viśokaṁ śucim atulaṁ viduṣāṁ mate praviṣṭam | anabhimatam asevitaṁ vimūḍhair brītam idam ājagaraṁ śuciśnacarāmi ||
Bhishma said: “This ‘python-like’ way of life is steady and unshakable, free from decay, auspicious, sorrowless, pure, incomparable, and approved by the judgment of the wise. It is not liked and therefore not practiced by the deluded. Abiding always in purity of intent, I follow this ajagara-vṛtti—living without restless striving, content with what comes of itself.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse commends ājagara-vṛtti—steadfast, pure, non-anxious living marked by contentment and minimal striving. It is praised as auspicious and sorrowless, endorsed by the wise, yet neglected by the deluded who cannot value such restraint and inner purity.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right conduct, Bhishma speaks as a teacher to the listener (Yudhiṣṭhira in context), describing and endorsing a disciplined, renunciant mode of life. He presents the ‘python’ metaphor to illustrate calm acceptance and freedom from restless pursuit.