Shloka 14
Vimokṣa-niścaya: Pañcaśikha’s Analysis of Aggregates, Guṇas, and Tyāga (मोक्षनिर्णयः)
तद्धत् संसारकान्तारमातिष्ठ न् श्रमतत्पर: । यात्रार्थमद्यादाहारं व्याधितो भेषजं यथा,जैसे वनमें रहनेवाला संन्यासी स्वादिष्ट अन्न (मिठाई आदि)-के लिये उत्सुक नहीं होता। वह शरीर-निर्वाहके लिये स्वाधीन रूखा-सूखा ग्रामीण आहार भी ग्रहण कर लेता है, उसी प्रकार संसाररूपी वनमें रहनेवाला गृहस्थ परिश्रममें संलग्न हो जीवन-निर्वाहमात्रके लिये शुद्ध सात््विक आहार ग्रहण करे। ठीक उसी तरह, जैसे रोगी जीवनरक्षाके लिये औषध सेवन करता है
tadvat saṃsārakāntāram ātiṣṭhan śramatatparaḥ | yātrārtham adyād āhāraṃ vyādhito bheṣajaṃ yathā ||
So too, dwelling in the wilderness of worldly life and devoted to honest effort, one should take food only for the sake of sustaining the journey of life—just as a sick man takes medicine, not for pleasure but for preservation.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Food should be taken with restraint and purity, primarily to sustain life and support one’s duties, not to indulge the palate—like medicine taken by a patient for survival rather than enjoyment.
Bhīṣma continues his instruction in the Śānti Parva, using the metaphor of saṃsāra as a dangerous forest to advise disciplined living: the householder should work diligently and eat only what is necessary for maintaining life.