Shloka 15
Saṃsāra-Gahana Allegory: The Brāhmaṇa in the Forest and Well (संसारगहन-आख्यान)
क्रमेण परिसर्पन्तं वल्लीवृक्षसमावृतम्,आसते मधु संवृत्य पूर्वमेव निकेतजा: । वह लताओं तथा वृक्षोंसे घिरे हुए उस कूपमें क्रमश: बढ़ा आ रहा था। वह ब्राह्मण, जिस वृक्षकी शाखापर लटका था, उसकी छोटी-छोटी टहनियोंपर पहलेसे ही मधुके छत्तोंसे पैदा हुई अनेक रूपवाली, घोर एवं भयंकर मधुमक्खियाँ मधुको घेरकर बैठी हुई थीं
krameṇa parisarpantaṃ vallīvṛkṣasamāvṛtam, āsate madhu saṃvṛtya pūrvam eva niketajāḥ |
As it crept upward little by little, the well lay covered over with creepers and trees. And on the tender twigs of the branch on which the man hung, swarms of bees—born there long before—sat clustered around their honey. The image underscores how, even while one struggles for survival, alluring pleasures and their stings surround the mind, binding it to danger rather than release.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how seductive pleasures (symbolized by honey) can distract and endanger a person already trapped in peril. Ethically, it urges vigilance and detachment: do not cling to fleeting sweetness when one’s situation calls for discernment and liberation.
In the allegorical scene, a well is overgrown with creepers and trees, and as something creeps upward step by step, bees are already clustered around honey on the small twigs near the branch where a man hangs. The setting intensifies the sense of entrapment and temptation amid danger.