Shloka 25
मृत्योर्वा मुखमेतद् वै या ग्रामे वसतो रति: । देवानामेष वै गोष्ठो यदरण्यमिति श्रुति:
mṛtyor vā mukham etad vai yā grāme vasato ratiḥ | devānām eṣa vai goṣṭho yad araṇyam iti śrutiḥ ||
भीष्म बोले—गाँव में बसने की जो आसक्ति है, वह मानो मृत्यु का ही मुख है। और श्रुति कहती है कि वन ही देवताओं का गोष्ठ (सभा-स्थान) है।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Attachment to settled, comfort-oriented village life is portrayed as a direct doorway to spiritual decline and mortality, whereas the forest symbolizes austerity, simplicity, and proximity to the divine; the verse urges detachment and a turn toward disciplined living.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction during the Śānti Parva, he contrasts worldly habitation (the village) with the ascetic ideal (the forest), citing traditional authority (śruti) to elevate forest-dwelling as a sacred sphere associated with the gods.