Shloka 3
अध्याय ५७ — राज्ञः नित्यप्रयत्नः, रक्षा-प्रधानता, तथा त्याग-नीतिः
Chapter 57: Constant Royal Vigilance, Primacy of Protection, and Principles of Dismissal
द्वाविमौ ग्रसते भूमि: सर्पो बिलशयानिव । राजानं चाविरोद्धारं ब्राह्मणं चाप्रवासिनम्,जैसे साँप बिलमें रहनेवाले चूहोंको निगल जाता है, उसी प्रकार दूसरोंसे लड़ाई न करनेवाले राजा तथा विद्याध्ययन आदिके लिये घर छोड़कर अन्यत्र न जानेवाले ब्राह्मणको पृथ्वी निगल जाती है (अर्थात् वे पुरुषार्थ-साधन किये बिना ही मर जाते हैं)”
dvāv imau grasate bhūmiḥ sarpo bilaśayān iva | rājānaṃ cāviruddhāraṃ brāhmaṇaṃ cāpravāsinam ||
Bhishma said: “The earth swallows up these two, just as a serpent swallows creatures that dwell in holes: a king who does not oppose aggressors, and a Brahmin who does not go forth from home for higher study and disciplined pursuit. Such men, failing to exert themselves in their proper duties, perish without attaining the means of human fulfillment.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma warns that neglect of one’s svadharma leads to ruin: a king must actively restrain and oppose wrongdoing, and a Brahmin must pursue disciplined learning and spiritual practice, even if it requires leaving home. Without such purposeful effort, life is ‘swallowed by the earth’—ending without meaningful attainment.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma addresses Yudhishthira and uses a vivid simile: as a snake consumes burrow-dwelling creatures, so the earth consumes (i.e., time and mortality overtake) two negligent types—an unresisting king and a Brahmin who does not undertake the outward discipline of study and practice.