Mahabharata — Vana Parva, Shloka 47
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
आकाशं तदपानीयं घोरं कान्तारदर्शनम् । न तत्र वृक्षच्छाया वा पानीयं केतनानि च
ākāśaṃ tadapānīyaṃ ghoraṃ kāntāradarśanam | na tatra vṛkṣacchāyā vā pānīyaṃ ketanāni ca ||
“वह प्रदेश जलरहित, आकाश-सा शून्य और घोर कान्तार के समान भयावह दिखाई देता है। वहाँ न वृक्षों की छाया है, न पीने का जल, और न कोई निवास-स्थान अथवा आश्रय।”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical and psychological dimension of endurance: in exile or adversity, the absence of basic supports (water, shade, shelter) tests resolve and character, highlighting the need for steadiness and disciplined perseverance.
The narrator Vaiśampāyana describes a terrifying, desolate stretch of wilderness—likened to an empty sky—where travelers find neither shade from trees, nor drinking water, nor any habitation, emphasizing the severity of the forest conditions.
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