Shloka 7
Śuka’s Nirveda: Vyāsa’s Admonition on Dharma, Impermanence, and ‘Imperishable Wealth’ (अक्षय-धन)
स्वादुकामुक कामानां वैतृष्ण्यं कि न गच्छसि । मधु पश्यसि दुर्बुद्धे प्रपातं नानुपश्यसि
svādukāmuka kāmānāṁ vaitṛṣṇyaṁ kiṁ na gacchasi | madhu paśyasi durbuddhe prapātaṁ nānupaśyasi ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô homme insensé, avide de goûter la douceur des plaisirs, pourquoi ta soif de désir ne s’apaise-t-elle pas ? Tu ne vois que le miel, là-haut sur la branche, et tu ne regardes pas la chute mortelle au-dessous. Ainsi, séduit par la douceur de la jouissance, tu ne remarques pas la ruine qui suit l’attachement.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Pleasures appear sweet like honey, but attachment blinds one to the danger of downfall. The verse urges vaitṛṣṇya—freedom from craving—through clear-sighted reflection on consequences.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction (Śānti Parva), he rebukes a pleasure-seeking mindset using a vivid image: a person fixated on honey high on a branch ignores the deadly risk of falling—illustrating how desire narrows judgment.