Adhyāya 222 — ब्रह्मस्थानप्राप्ति: मोक्षधर्मे समत्वव्रतम्
Attaining the Brahman-Station: The Vow of Equanimity in Mokṣadharma
बद्ध: पाशैश्ष्युत: स्थानाद् द्विषतां वशमागतः । श्रिया विहीन: प्रह्माद शोचितव्ये न शोचसि
baddhaḥ pāśaiḥ śyutaḥ sthānād dviṣatāṁ vaśam āgataḥ | śriyā vihīnaḥ pramādāt śocitavye na śocasi ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Enchaîné de liens, déchu de ta place légitime et livré au pouvoir de tes ennemis ; dépouillé de la prospérité par ta propre insouciance—et pourtant, dans un état qui appelle les lamentations, tu ne te lamentes pas.»
भीष्म उवाच
Bhīṣma highlights that negligence (pramāda) leads to loss of status and fortune, and that ethical clarity begins with honestly acknowledging one’s degraded condition; refusing to feel appropriate remorse or concern signals delusion or lack of discernment.
In the instruction-heavy context of the Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma addresses a person who has fallen into enemy control and lost prosperity due to carelessness, rebuking him for not recognizing the gravity of his predicament.