Shloka 183

Devanagari script

वृकीवोरणमासाद्य मृत्युरादाय गच्छति । वह भोग-सामग्रियोंका संयम करता और कामनाओंसे अतृप्त ही रहता है। तभी मृत्यु आकर उसे उसी तरह उठा ले जाती है, जैसे बाघिन भेड़के पास पहुँचकर उसे दबोच लेती है

Transliteration

vṛkīva raṇam āsādya mṛtyur ādāya gacchati | sa bhoga-sāmagrīṇāṃ saṃyamaṃ karoti kāmanābhiś cātṛpta eva tiṣṭhati | tataḥ mṛtyur āgatya tam evaṃ ādāya gacchati yathā vṛkī meṣam upasṛtya taṃ niṣpīḍya gṛhṇāti |

Translation

Seperti harimau betina yang telah mendekati mangsanya lalu menerkamnya, demikian pula Maut datang dan menyeretnya pergi. Walau ia menahan dan menimbun sarana kenikmatan, ia tetap tak pernah puas dalam hasrat; dan dalam keadaan dahaga itulah Maut tiba dan merenggutnya.

Word by Word

वृकीshe-wolf (tigress-like predator)

इवlike, as

उरणम्a ram (sheep)

आसाद्यhaving reached, approaching

मृत्युःDeath

आदायhaving taken away, seizing

गच्छतिgoes, departs

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Mṛtyu (Death, personified)

Tigress (vṛkī)

Sheep/ram (meṣa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Unfulfilled desire persists even amid controlled or hoarded enjoyments, and death can arrive at any moment; therefore one should cultivate restraint with inner contentment and detachment rather than endless acquisition.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma warns that a person who keeps accumulating the means of pleasure yet remains craving is suddenly seized by Death—illustrated through the vivid image of a tigress snatching a sheep.