Shloka 31
Adhyāya 180: Jīva, Śarīra, and the Fire Analogy (भृगु–भरद्वाज संवादः)
अपगतभयरागमोहदर्पो धृतिमतिबुद्धिसमन्वित: प्रशान्त: । उपगतफलभोगिनो निशम्य व्रतमिदमाजगरं शुचिश्चरामि,“मेरे भय, राग, मोह और अभिमान नष्ट हो गये हैं। मैं धृति, मति और बुद्धिसे सम्पन्न एवं पूर्णतया शान्त हूँ। और प्रारब्धवश स्वतः अपने समीप आयी हुई वस्तुका ही उपभोग करनेवालोंको देखकर मैं पवित्रभावसे इस आजगरबव्रतका आचरण करता हूँ
apagatabhayarāgamohadarpo dhṛtimatibuddhisamanvitaḥ praśāntaḥ | upagata-phalabhogino niśamya vratam idam ājagaraṁ śuciś carāmi |
Bhīṣma said: “Fear, attachment, delusion, and pride have fallen away from me. Endowed with steadiness, right reflection, and discernment, I am wholly tranquil. Observing those who accept and enjoy only what comes to them of its own accord—by the force of what has already begun to bear fruit (prārabdha)—I practice, in purity of mind, this ‘python-vow’ (ājagara-vrata), a discipline of non-grasping and contentment.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches inner renunciation: when fear, attachment, delusion, and pride are abandoned, one lives in serenity and practices contentment by accepting only what comes naturally as the ‘fruit’ of prior causes, without restless pursuit or grasping.
Bhishma, instructing on dharma in the Shanti Parva, describes his adopted discipline (ājagara-vrata). He presents himself as tranquil and purified, modeling an ascetic ethic of non-seeking and acceptance of whatever arrives by destiny/previous karma.