Shloka 25
Adhyāya 180: Jīva, Śarīra, and the Fire Analogy (भृगु–भरद्वाज संवादः)
अचलमनिधनं शिवं विशोक॑ शुचिमतुल विदुषां मते प्रविष्टम् । अनभिमतमसेवितं विमूढै- ब्रीतमिदमाजगरं शुचिश्नचरामि
acalam anidhanaṁ śivaṁ viśokaṁ śucim atulaṁ viduṣāṁ mate praviṣṭam | anabhimatam asevitaṁ vimūḍhair brītam idam ājagaraṁ śuciśnacarāmi ||
Bhishma dijo: «Este modo de vida “como el de la pitón” es firme e inconmovible, libre de deterioro, auspicioso, sin tristeza, puro, incomparable y aprobado por el juicio de los sabios. A los extraviados no les agrada y por eso no lo practican. Permaneciendo siempre en la pureza de la intención, sigo este ajagara-vṛtti: vivir sin afán inquieto, contento con lo que llega por sí mismo.»
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.