Shloka 25
Vipula’s Yogic Protection of the Guru’s Household (विपुलस्य योगरक्षा / Vipulasya Yogarakṣā)
नाग्निस्तृप्यति काष्ठानां नापगानां महोदधि: । नानतकः सर्वभूतानां न पुंसां वामलोचना:
nāgnis tṛpyati kāṣṭhānāṁ nāpagānāṁ mahodadhiḥ | nāntakaḥ sarvabhūtānāṁ na puṁsāṁ vāmalocanāḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : Le feu n’est jamais rassasié par le bois, ni le grand océan par les fleuves qui s’y jettent. Antaka (la Mort), quand bien même il saisirait tous les êtres vivants d’un seul coup, ne serait pas davantage rassasié. De même, les femmes aux yeux charmants ne sont jamais rassasiées des hommes.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That some drives—especially craving and acquisitiveness—do not naturally end through indulgence; they intensify like fire fed by wood or the ocean receiving rivers. Therefore dharma emphasizes restraint (dama), discrimination (viveka), and moderation rather than feeding limitless desire.
Bhīṣma is delivering moral instruction in the Anuśāsana Parva, using vivid natural analogies (fire, ocean, death) to caution about insatiability and to guide conduct and self-governance.