Shloka 168
आपद्धर्मनिर्णयः — विश्वामित्र-श्वपचसंवादः
Apaddharma Determination: Dialogue of Viśvāmitra and the Śvapaca
भक्ष्यार्थ हवबद्धस्त्वं स मुक्त: पीडित: क्षुधा
bhakṣyārtha-havabaddhas tvaṃ sa muktaḥ pīḍitaḥ kṣudhā
भीष्म बोले—“भोजन की लालसा से तुम बँध गए थे; और मुक्त हो जाने पर भी भूख से पीड़ित रहे।”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Desire can bind a person more powerfully than external chains: one may be physically freed, yet the inner compulsion (here, hunger/craving) continues to cause suffering. The remedy implied is restraint and mastery over appetites.
Bhīṣma addresses a ‘you’ (in an illustrative or admonitory context) describing a sequence: being trapped due to the lure of food, then being released, yet still remaining distressed by hunger—highlighting how craving persists beyond circumstances.