Shloka 37
Adhyāya 180: Jīva, Śarīra, and the Fire Analogy (भृगु–भरद्वाज संवादः)
भीष्म उवाच अजगरचरितं व्रतं महात्मा य इह नरो<नुचरेद् विनीतराग: । अपगतभयलो भमोहमन्यु: स खलु सुखी विचरेदिमं विहारम्
bhīṣma uvāca | ajagaracaritaṁ vrataṁ mahātmā ya iha naro 'nucared vinītarāgaḥ | apagatabhayalobhamohamanyuḥ sa khalu sukhī vicared imaṁ vihāram ||
Bhīṣma dit : Ô roi, l’homme noble qui, en ce monde, suit le vœu calqué sur la vie du python—ayant dompté l’attachement et rejeté la peur, l’avidité, l’illusion et la colère—vit véritablement heureux, cheminant dans l’existence avec une liberté paisible.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Happiness and freedom in life arise from disciplined restraint: practicing the ‘ajagara-vrata’ (a life of simplicity and non-grasping) and abandoning attachment along with fear, greed, delusion, and anger.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction to the king, Bhishma recommends an ascetic-ethical model called the ‘ajagara’ (python) observance, praising the person who lives without craving and without the inner enemies of fear, greed, delusion, and anger.